Proposal Plans
by cncgrad02
Summary: Zac has told Vanessa that he has a plan of when, where, and how he'll propose. How much does he actually share, and how does she react? Zanessa, of course! Rated T at the start, buy possibly M by the end!
1. A New Year

_Here I am from SC once again, giving a great big southern "Hey, yall"! I promised a sequel of sorts, and here it is! "Birthdays and First Dates" does **not** need to be read to follow this, but you can if you want to hehe! I won't complain! Anyway, we found out in "Birthdays and First Dates" that Zac has a Big Plan, but how does Vanessa deal with the Big Plan? I don't own anything in this story, except for the storyline. Anything in this story that could possibly happen, has not (that I know of). I just made it up for the sake of the story. I thank yall for reading "Birthdays and First Dates". Everyone seemed to really enjoy it and I hope that you will enjoy this one just as much! God bless!_

_**Chapter 1**_

It was New Year's Eve. Vanessa and Zac were going over to Ashley's to spend it with their mutual best friend and her boyfriend Scott. The four of them were planning a quiet evening in complete with sushi, drinks, and watching the ball. Not to mention the coveted kiss at midnight for both couples. Vanessa, however, couldn't help but wonder if her 2010 would start off with a little more decoration than she had to close out 2009. After her conversation with Zac on her birthday about his plans to propose, her imagination has wondered quite a bit. She found herself picturing Zac getting down on one knee in front of her many times since, and had always heard of couples getting engaged at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, and was giddy with the thought that, this year, she herself may be half of one of those couples.

She was sitting at the vanity next to the bed that she shared with Zac more times then she'd slept in it alone carefully applying her makeup when her eyes caught sight of the reflection in the mirror of the blue topaz ring that her boyfriend had given her for her birthday. The same ring that would only fit on one finger. Her thoughts traveled back to the time she had spent with her best friend the day before when the two girls met for coffee. It was then that she'd shared her thoughts out loud to anyone for the first time about tonight and what it might mean.

"_Do you really think he's going to propose tomorrow night?" Ashley asked in disbelief._

"_I don't know, Ash. I mean, he did say he has a plan and all, but what if tomorrow night is part of his plan? He told me that he wanted to do it in private, just me and him, but I would be okay with you and Scott there, too. I mean, the two most important people in our lives other than our families? What better time, right?" she asked trying to hide her excitement._

_Ashley took a sip of her peppermint mocha latte to hide the small smile on her face. She knew Zac's plan. He had, after all, enlisted Ashley's help given the fact that he had been in Vancouver and found it hard to have any time to himself and away from Vanessa to make the needed phone calls. Ashley was more than willing to help her two best friend's find their much deserved happiness._

_After her longer then necessary sip, Ashley was able to sustain her smile long enough to look in the dark chocolate eyes of on screen nemesis, and give a genuine smile. _

"_Nessa, if he does propose tomorrow night, you realize that I'm not letting the two of you out of my sight before you and I sit and plan the whole ceremony, right?"_

"_As much as I love that idea and can't wait till you and I can have our girl time and talk nothing but wedding plans, I think you know that Zac would fight you on the whole 'planning the ceremony' idea before our 'celebration', Ash!" _

_In a desperate attempt to get Vanessa's mind off the proposal that Ashley knew was coming in the near future, just not in the __very__ near future, she racked her brain for a topic of conversation change. At that exact moment, the answer to her prayer come in the form of the paparazzi she spotted outside the coffee shop._

"_Hey, Nessa, change of topic. Quick, before we're overheard," she stated, signaling outside at the photogs. When Vanessa spotted them, too, she quickly changed her tune._

"_So, the plans for tomorrow night…" she said, starting a new conversation for her and Ashley. _

Her attention was quickly drawn back to the present when she heard her boyfriend call out to her from downstairs.

"Hey, Van? Are you almost ready? Ashley just texted me and asked what time we'd be there. What should I tell her?"

Vanessa turned her focus from the blue topaz ring on her left ring finger and back to the present time. She stood up from the vanity in her room where she was applying her eye shadow before she started daydreaming when she caught sight of the ring in the mirror and made her way to the hallway, leaning over the railing of the stairs over looking the foyer of her magnificent home. She saw her boyfriend standing there on the floor below her and took in his good looks. He was dressed in the olive green button down shirt with vertical white stripes she had given him for Christmas, wearing the shirt unbuttoned, with a white t-shirt underneath and jeans. He had on his brown vans, and his hair had the messy look that she loved so much. She smiled down at him lovingly.

"You look good in that shirt. I love the way it looks on you," she told him.

"Why are you avoiding the question?" he asked with a smirk.

"Why are you avoiding the compliment?" she threw back at him.

"Fine, you win. Thank you. I really like this shirt. It's comfortable. I can't wait to see it off and on the bedroom floor, though…" he told her, waggling his eyebrows as he looked up at her with his blue eyes that she often found herself getting lost in.

"Tell Ashley about 30 more minutes and I'll be ready. Find out if she wants us to bring anything," she told him with a roll of her eyes before she turned back around and went into the bedroom to finish with her make up and hair as she heard his laugh behind her.

She sat back down at the vanity and carefully applied the eye shadow to her other eye. As she finished, she pulled away and sat back on her stool, looking at her appearance in the mirror.

"Just in case it _is_ tonight, I need to make sure I look perfect," she said to herself.

"I think you always look perfect."

She jumped as she heard Zac's voice behind her.

"I didn't know you were there," she told him nervously. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," he told her coming further into the room and sitting down on the bed. She heard him take a deep breath and turned to see him playing with his hands, a trait she knew represented his seriousness. "Van," he said after a pause "do you trust me?"

She looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows together in shock.

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer it."

"Zac, of course I trust you. I thought you knew that? Why-"

"Then trust me that it'll happen in the time that it's supposed to happen. Baby, I love you. I love you so much that I can't wait to ask you to be my wife and spend the rest of our lives together. But the time is not tonight. I told you a few weeks ago that I have a plan and the plan will play out when it's supposed to. But I need you to please be patient." He stood up and walked over to the side of her vanity stool and knelt down so that they were eye level. "Baby, please believe me," he finished as he reached up to brush a few strands of her hair behind her ear, resting his hand on her cheek.

Vanessa sighed as she allowed this new piece of information sink in. She covered his hand that rested on her cheek with hers and kissed the palm of his hand.

"I love you, Zac. So much. And I trust you. I do. I know it doesn't seem like it, especially at times like this, but I do. I'm sorry if I ever come across as being impatient, but I'm just-"

"- a girl. I know. You've mentioned that," he mentioned with laughter in his eyes. "Ashley asked if we could stop and pick up the champagne for the countdown tonight."

"Okay, just a few more minutes," she told him, taking his chin in her hands and leaning in to brush a kiss on his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said as he placed a kiss on her lips. "I'll be downstairs. Let me know when you're ready to go," he told her as he stood up and walked out of the room.

Vanessa sighed as she turned back around to face the mirror of the vanity to finish her makeup, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, despite the fact that she tried hard to keep that from happening. She wanted so hard to be strong and not give Zac any reason to doubt her trust in him, but was finding it more and more difficult as time went on. Fifteen minutes later, when she was pleased with her appearance, she picked up her perfume that Zac had given her for the anniversary of their first movie premiering the previous year and sprayed it on her wrists and rubbed them together. She'd learned long ago to not spray perfume on her neck when there was a possibility of alone time with her and Zac as he complained of her neck tasting like perfume. She grabbed her purse, looked at her beloved Shadow, who was relaxing on her pet bed in the corner of the room underneath one of the windows, before picking her up, and walked out the door, turning off the light on her way out.

"Zac," she called as she descended the stairs, "I'm ready."

"Okay, let's go," he said as he stood up from the couch and turning off the TV as he did so, and then turned around to take in her appearance before he stopped. "No."

"Why?" Vanessa asked with a slight pout in her voice.

"Because we're not taking her!"

"But, Zac, she can play with Maui and actually run around and have fun! She's not been able to go out by herself without being on her leash lately with the backyard being all messed up."

Vanessa looked at Zac with the pouty eyes that she knew he couldn't resist and lifted Shadow so she was even with Vanessa's face and then lifted one of Shadow's paws.

"Please, Daddy. I really want to play with my friend Maui," Vanessa said, using her best child like voice with her lower lip poking out. Zac just looked at his crazy girlfriend and her even crazier dog. He fought hard to contain his laughter at the sight in front of him, both Vanessa and Shadow giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"You," he started, pointing at Shadow "only got those eyes from her" he said as he pointed at Vanessa. "and you can not give me the eyes because I have gotten immune to them in the past four years."

"Aarr," came Shadow's high pitched bark. Zac then looked from Shadow to Vanessa, who was trying to withhold her own laughter.

"Go get in the car," he told Vanessa.

"What about-" she started, pointing at Shadow.

"If you don't get in the car with her now, I'll change my mind!" he interrupted.

Vanessa was quickly out the door leading out into the garage, in a fit of giggles. "Good job, Shadow! Mommy taught you well!" Zac just rolled his eyes as he made his way from the front door to the back door, checking the locks as he went. As Zac came out and hit the button to open the garage door, she leaned over to open the door for her boyfriend. When he climbed in the car, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before starting the car and backing it out the driveway and making the short trip to their friend's house for an evening of hanging out with no paparazzi around to see them.

* * *

The four friends had had a good time doing nothing at all. They just hung out all evening, eating sushi that Ashley and Scott had made and just being together. After her break up from Jared, Ashley had been heart broken and it had taken her awhile to open her heart again. Zac and Vanessa had felt a tiny bit responsible for their friend's pain after her messy break up from the backup dancer that they had introduced her to during the filming of the first _High School Musical_.

When she first broached the subject of Scott, her two best friends were hesitant to say the least. After their first double date with Ashley and Scott, they went back to Vanessa's house that evening and talked about how the date had gone and about how happy Ashley finally seemed to be. The two finally decided that whatever had happened between Ashley and Jared was just one of those things that happens, and the two were ready to accept their friend's new relationship. Now, almost a year later, they had never seen Ashley more happy than when she was with Scott. He truly made her happy and they saw it. They saw the way her eyes lit up when he was near. They saw the way she got all giddy whenever she talked about him. They just saw her happiness, period.

That's why when Scott did the unexpected that evening, although it took a moment to let it sink in at first, neither Zac nor Vanessa were surprised in the long run. Ashley, however, now that's another story all together. To say that she was surprised was the understatement of the outgoing decade. The group had finished eating about 2 ½ hours ago, and had just been playing _American Idol _on Ashley's Wii. At 11:30, they finally turned off the game and turned on Dick Clark's _New Year's Rockin' Eve_ on ABC to watch the countdown and wait on the ball to drop. They watched Jennifer Lopez as she performed and, after the commercial break, 11:58 came, and Scott and Zac then stood from their position on the couch and moved to stand behind Vanessa and Ashley and each man wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist. Then at 11:59, they watched as Ryan Seacrest pushed the button to start the ball drop and the countdown started. Vanessa then turned so she was facing the handsome man who had his arms wrapped around her and she in turn wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, as he left his around her waist. On the other side of the room, Scott and Ashley were in a similar position. The countdown continued in the background.

10...

Zac and Vanessa were staring into each other eyes and leaned towards each other so their foreheads were touching..

9...

Scott removed his arms from around Ashley's waist, while she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. _Okay, what's going on here?_ she thought to herself.

8...

Scott took a deep breath and reached into his pocket while moving to get down on one knee in front of his girlfriend.

7...

Zac and Vanessa heard Ashley's gasp from across the room and turned just in time to see what was happening.

6...

"Ashley, you are my whole world. This past year has taught me that I can't live without you and I want you by my side forever. Will you marry me?"

5...

Zac and Vanessa's eyes grew three times their normal size as they watched, while holding their breath. Vanessa's hand went to cover her mouth which had dropped open in surprise.

4...

Ashley's jaw dropped, as Scott held his breath

3...

Ashley slowly nodded her head, before finally finding her voice.

2...

"Yes!" she cried, as she put her arms on his biceps, pulling him up to his feet so she could wrap her arms back around his neck.

1...

That one, short, three-letter word was all it took. Scott placed a kiss on the lips of his new fiancée just as the ball made contact to the base of the rod and the 2010 lit up all of Times Square on the TV. Zac, too, took his girlfriend in his arms and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, as she had her own thoughts swirling in her head, unbeknownst to anyone else in the room.

Vanessa continued the kiss for a moment, enjoying the comfortable feel of Zac's lips on her own. This was usually one of the things in life that brought her comfort, but at this particular moment, all she could concentrate on was one thing.

_Why? I want Ashley to be happy. Why can I not be happy for her right now? _

Just as that thought entered her mind, Zac pulled back and leaned his lips so they were against Vanessa's ear.

"Happy New Year, Baby. This will be our year," he whispered in her ear, before playing with her ear lobe with his mouth.

Vanessa just pulled away to look him in the brilliant blue eyes that she adored so much. She offered a slight smile and as she opened her mouth to speak, she caught a glimpse of the blue topaz ring on her left hand. She fought to keep the smile on her lips and the tears that she felt building at bay, trying hard to swallow the lump that she felt in her throat, for the second time that day, as well.

"Yeah," she told him softly, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him closer. "It will be."

* * *

When she and Zac finally got back to her house around 12:30, much earlier than either had expected, but they did have to give Ashley and Scott time for their celebration, Zac immediately brought it to Vanessa's attention that they had yet to ring in the New Year properly. Vanessa just gave him a forced smile and surrendered herself to Zac's passion, but for the first time that she could remember in their relationship, she found herself with her whole heart not fully involved. Their celebration didn't last long because she made it a point to just go through the motions.

A short time after his climax, when she felt his even breaths and she knew for a fact that he was asleep, she silently crept out of bed, slipped on a camisole and a pair of pants that she pulled from the dresser, and sneaked out of the bedroom. As she made her way down the hall, she found herself standing at the door of the only other bedroom on the second floor of her home. As she softly opened the door, she cringed at the squeak of the hinges, hoping that the noise wasn't as loud as it appeared to her delicate ears in the quietness of the big house.

Once the door was fully open, she stepped into the room and felt her breath catch in her throat. No matter how many times she came in this room, whether it be to clean or just to reminisce, it always took her back in time. As she looked around the walls of the room the two of them jokingly referred to as their "Bragging Room", she took in all of the _High School Musical, Hairspray, 17 Again, _and _Bandslam_ memorabilia, the framed magazine covers, the framed movie posters, all of her cd covers, and all of the awards sitting on the bookshelves, she was taken back to a time when they were both merely teenagers and when nothing in their lives was complicated.

_I so badly want to be happy for Ashley, but is it selfish of me to want to be happy, too? _she wondered to herself as she came further into the room and ran her fingers over one of the many pictures of her and Zac in their Troy and Gabriella mode.

_Things were so simple. His biggest fear used to be Dad! Now, apparently, it's commitment. _She paused her thoughts as she felt the hot tears that she'd been holding in for hours finally stream from her eyes, forming silent rivers down her cheeks._ God, Vanessa, stop! You trust him, you love him, and he promised you. Your time will come_, she told herself, wiping at her tears angrily.

She jumped when she felt the arms of her boyfriend wrap themselves around her from behind.

"God, Zac, don't do that!" she exclaimed when she felt her heart rate return to normal.

"Don't do what, miss you when I wake up in an empty bed?" he asked her as he leaned in to place a kiss to her bare shoulder. He pulled back when he felt her tears hit the side of his cheek. "Baby? What's wrong?" Zac moved from behind her, grabbing her hand and moving over to the red director's chair with the Wildcat insignia on the back that was sitting in the corner of the "Bragging Room", with Vanessa trailing behind him. He sat down and pulled her down into his lap and re-arranged her so her legs were falling over the side of the chair and placed one arm behind her back, reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her tear-stained face and placed his hand back down so it was draped on top of her legs. He looked into the brown eyes that he loved so much and instantly knew the answer.

"Van," he started, "Baby, I love you more than I love my own life. I don't know how else to tell you how badly I can't wait until that perfect time. I've already talked your dad, by the way."

She looked at him with her eyes wide with shock. "You talked to Daddy?" When she saw him nod, she continued. "About what?" she asked, anxious to hear the answer. She watched as Zac rolled his eyes in frustration at her question directed to what he thought was the obvious.

"I asked for his permission to take Stella to the movies with us! What do you think I talked to him about?!' Vanessa grinned at his attempted joke. "There it is."

"There what is?" she asked him quietly.

"The beautiful smile that I love so much. I plan to see that smile everyday for the rest of the days of my life. I know why you're upset, Van. I wish I could make it better."

"But you can," she told him pointedly, as she reached up to place her hand on his cheek and stroke it lovingly.

"Yes, I can. And I will." Zac paused, as he took her hand from his cheek and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it before linking their hands together. "Van, do you trust me?" he asked, repeating the same question he'd asked her only hours before.

"With my whole heart," she told him as she placed her forehead against his.

"Then let's go to bed so you can make love to me properly this time," he told her, as he picked her up bridal style, carrying her out of their "Bragging Room" and back into the bedroom, gently laying her down on their bed as he kissed her.

As Vanessa felt his hand sneak under her camisole and softly rub her back, she moaned into the kiss, reaching her hands up to rub them through his hair, then down across his bare back. This time, when he broke the kiss to pull her camisole over her head and toss it to the floor, it landed on Shadow's head. He gave a soft chuckle as he looked over his shoulder just in time to see Shadow stand from her bed in the corner, shake the offending garment off her head, let out a small growl, and run out of the room.

"Sorry, Shadow," he called after the small pup. The couple heard a tiny bark from out in the hallway and laughed.

As Vanessa looked back in her lover's eyes, she saw all the promises from the previous month in the sea of blue. It was at that moment that she knew without a doubt that her time would come, too. She leaned her head up and gave Zac a kiss which she hoped showed him exactly how much she truly trusted him. He kissed her back with just as much passion and the two continued to make love well into the wee hours of the morning. This time, with Vanessa's whole heart included.


	2. Girl Time

_Yay! It's chapter 2! I'm glad everyone's liking this story so far. (I don't know if Scott has a brother or what his name is if he does. In this story, he does, so just go with it.) I'm going to give a great big shout out to Anna: THANK YOU for being my sounding board! You're awesome! Once again, I don't own anything. I wish I did... but oh, well. Enjoy!_

_**Chapter 2**_

In the days that followed, Vanessa found herself getting thrown into wedding plans, just not in the way she had hoped. Ashley had asked her to be a bridesmaid, along with another of their _High School Musical _co-stars, Vanessa's on screen best friend Monique, and was having her older sister Jennifer as maid-of-honor. Scott had asked his brother Bradley to be his best man and had asked Zac and Corbin to be his groomsmen.

Vanessa showed up for lunch a month later with Ashley and her sister Jennifer and was pleasantly surprised to find Monique joining them. When she walked in and noticed Monique, her face suddenly lit up. She hadn't seen her friend since her birthday party, or any of their former co-stars for that matter, and was definitely missing her.

"MoMo!" she called out, affectionately using the nickname that the cast had given the older female.

"Nessa! Oh, my word, girl, look at you! You look amazing!" Monique told her giving her a tight hug and then holding her at arms length to take in Vanessa's appearance.

"Hey, Nessa," Jennifer greeted her, standing up to give her a hug as well. When the two pulled apart, Jennifer eyed her carefully.

"Jennifer, why are you giving me that look?" Vanessa questioned her.

"You've got sex eyes!" Jennifer practically yelled out, only to immediately cover her mouth when she realized how loud she said her previous statement. Ashley and Monique started to laugh at the look of embarrassment on Vanessa's face.

"Hey, Nessa, didn't you say that Zac had an 'early meeting' today?" she asked, using air quotes and elbowing Monique in the ribs. "He had to 'get up early', didn't he? Is that why you're late?"

"Yall, stop," Monique gently chastised the other two. "I think it's cute- the way the two of them are so in love and for so long. No offense, Ash, but it's hard to believe that you're engaged first and not her," she went on, not realizing that she'd hit a nerve with Vanessa.

"Me, too! I was so surprised! I mean, Scott and I had talked about marriage, but I didn't have a _clue _he was planning on asking me so soon!"

"Yeah. Hey, I'll be right back," Vanessa said, as she stood and walked toward the bathroom. Jennifer and Monique watched with concern, as Ashley just shook her head.

"Did I say something?" Monique asked Ashley and Jennifer when the fourth member of the group was out of earshot, and Ashley quickly caught Monique up on what was going on through the mind of Vanessa.

"Oh, my word. Bless her heart, the poor thing. But he _is_ planning on proposing, though, right?" Monique asked, waiting on confirmation. When she got it from Ashley, she kept going. "And he has a plan of when and where?"

Ashley opened her mouth to let Monique and Jennifer know that she knew the plan, but quickly shut it and took a sip of her drink when she heard Vanessa's voice behind her.

"Yes, he does, but don't ask what it is because I don't have a clue what or when or where, or anything else having to do with this!" The three girls all looked up to see Vanessa standing next to the table. She gave all three of them a look and sat back down, and Monique leaned over to gave her a hug.

"Sweetie, I'm just impressed you're holding it in as well as you are. If it were me, I'd be ready to kill."

"Oh, she's tried!" Ashley joked and the group broke into giggles with Vanessa shooting exaggerated daggers at the other girls at the table.

While the girls enjoyed mimosas, all except Jennifer, of course, as she was almost six months pregnant and was just having a Diet Coke with lemon, and waited on their lunch, Jennifer immediately jumped into the reason for the lunch outing.

"Okay, girls, as Maid of Honor, I can now tell you two why you're here. It is to plan Ashley's bridal shower. I know that usually isn't done until after the couple has already registered, but I want to make sure all the preliminary decisions, date, place, and so forth, are made before Little One makes her appearance," she told Vanessa and Monique while Ashley leaned over to pat her sister's stomach lovingly. "That way I won't have to worry about it later. Also, Ashley wanted to go to the bridal shop so the three of us can try on some dresses and maybe help her decide what we're going to wear."

"Oh, Jen, I didn't tell you! Mom and I went to David's Bridal when I was visiting a few weeks ago and I found a few gowns. It just so happens that I looked online and the store we're going to today has a few of the same one's that she and I looked at. I want to try those on to show you girls to get opinions on those, too," Ashley excitedly told the group.

The four girls finished their lunch, Vanessa feeling like she was having to put on a front the whole time, and then left the restaurant. They all piled into Monique's car and she drove to the bridal shop that Ashley directed her to. As Monique's ring tone of "Carolina Girls" by General Johnson and the Chairmen of the Board sounded out through out the car, the other three girls laughed.

"You don't stop with the southern-ness stuff, do you?" Vanessa asked.

"Hey, once a Carolina Girl, always a Carolina Girl!" Monique responded, using the popular line from their third movie and causing the other girls to laugh, before answering her call. "Hey, Mom. How're yall doing in Columbia?" As Monique continued her conversation with her mom, Ashley and Jennifer started their own conversation.

"Hey, Ash, did Mom happen to mention when she's coming out here?"

"Yeah, she said something about not coming until you have the baby. She doesn't want to pay for two plane tickets so close together or something."

"But they baby won't be here for three and a half more months!"

"I know, and I told her I'd pay for her ticket for one of those visits, but she wouldn't hear of it. You know how stubborn she is. That's why I want you three to help me decide on a dress."

As Ashley and Jennifer continued their conversation about their mom, Vanessa's phone sounded with her text message tone. She reached into her purse to pull it out and noticed that it was from Zac. She opened it to read what he had to say.

_Hey, Baby. I wish u'd woken me this am to tell me u were leaving. I missed u when I woke up alone._

She gave a slight smile as she responded to his message.

_I'm sorry. ): Something came up and I had to leave earlier than I'd planned and thought u'd rather have ur sleep after last pm. Or was that this am? They all run 2gether after awhile… ;)_

_U're right, the sleep was needed. Thank u for that. When do u think u'll be back? I miss u…_ she read his response after a moment and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from "aww"-ing out loud.

_I miss u, 2. I don't know how long this will take. I'll let u know when I leave so u'll know about when 2 expect me._

_Sounds good. Talk to u soon. I love you!_

_Love you, too! _She put herphone back in her purse and noticed the silence in the car. As she looked around, she saw three pairs of eyes staring at her.

"What?" she asked.

"He's so whipped," Jennifer said while the other two burst into giggles.

"Shut up," Vanessa told them, smiling, as she reached forward to turn up the radio. The rest of the ride existed with the four girls singing along to the radio, gossiping about their Hollywood counterparts, and even placed a call to Corbin, who was happy to hear from his three former co-stars and Jennifer.

* * *

Once the girls got to the bridal shop, Ashley immediately went to the counter to let the sales associate know they were there for their appointment. Within ten minutes, Jennifer, Monique, and Vanessa were in the fitting rooms trying on their bride's maids gowns. Shortly after settling into her fitting room, Vanessa found herself standing with her back to the mirror, stepping into the soft baby blue dress. She stopped breathing as she turned around and caught sight of herself in the mirror.

_The same blue as his eyes, _she thought to herself, only to be brought back to her senses as she heard the shrieks of the other three girls outside the fitting rooms. _What am I doing here?_

"Nessa, are you ready? Come out, let's see it!" she heard Ashley call out to her.

_I'm here for Ash. She deserves this. Take a deep breath, Hudgens. You're okay. Don't let her see you sweat. _"I'm coming!" she called out after finally finding her voice. As she stepped out, she took in the sight of Monique and Jennifer in dresses different than the one she currently had on, but in the same color.

"Typical Ashley, she can't decide which one she likes," Jennifer explained, seeing the look in Vanessa's eyes.

"These were my top three picks, so I had each of you try all three of them on so I can see them all side by side, at the same time," Ashley said, taking a step back to look at all of her three attendants. Suddenly, Ashley let out a gasp.

"What's wrong?" Monique asked, concerned.

"Seeing all three of you in those dresses just gave me an idea! Who says that the attendants have to all be wearing the same dress? Why can't they all be wearing different dresses, but in the same color?"

"It certainly makes your decision easier," Jennifer pointed out.

"Yeah, I like that idea! Now, which dress do you want us each in? Are you going to change it, or just have us wear the one we're trying on?" Monique asked.

As the others continued talking, Vanessa found herself zoning out again. She jumped when she saw Ashley waving a hand inches in front of her face. "Are you still with us? You seem to be a million miles away."

"No, I'm fine," Vanessa lied, forcing a smile in her best attempt to convince Ashley.

"Ashley, why don't you try on the dresses you found and let us see them?" Jennifer asked. As Ashley walked into her own fitting room, followed by her sister to help her, Monique turned to Vanessa and gave her a knowing look.

"I know that you're not okay," the older Southerner told the younger girl. Vanessa just looked at her.

"What are you talking about, Mo? I'm fine," Vanessa told her while trying to walk back into her fitting room.

"Nessa, you can't lie to me. I know you too well," Monique said as she followed Vanessa into the fitting room. She reached up to help her unzip the dress that she had on. "I know that you're upset, but I also think it's amazing that you're trying to put on a brave front for Ashley."

"Well, she deserves it. It would be selfish of me to make this about me and my _boyfriend_," she said, bitterly emphasizing the last word as the blue dress fell to the floor and pooled around her feet and she pulled her shirt over her head Monique stood and put a hand on her shoulder as she looked Vanessa in the eye in the mirror.

"Sweetheart, he loves you. You love him. I've been one of the very few who was lucky enough to see yall's love grow from the very beginning and I can't tell you how much of a beautiful thing that has been. Don't let what you refer to as 'selfishness' get in the way of that. Ashley's happy and your time, from what I hear, is coming. Granted I don't know when, but if I know Zac like I think I know Zac, it will be soon."

"What if it's not, Mo? He says he has a plan and I trust him, but I can't help but play 'What if?' with myself."

"Honey, bless your heart, that's you're favorite game. If 'What if' was an Olympic sport, you'd be a gold medalist! You've got to stop!"

"But-" Vanessa started, but was interrupted by a knocking at the door.

"Girls, she's ready! Come out and see!" Jennifer said to them through the door.

"We're coming. Yall be patient!" Monique responded. She turned back to look at Vanessa, who was in the process of buttoning her jeans back up. "Honey, are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Tell them I'll be right out."

Monique turned back to the door and, before letting herself out of her friend's fitting room, took one more glance over her shoulder, only to see Vanessa wipe a tear off her cheek and take a deep breath. She opened the door and walked out, spotting Ashley standing on the platform in a stunning wedding gown.

"Girl! Wow! I really don't know what to say! You are absolutely-" Monique stopped when she saw Ashley and Jennifer's eyes look past her and turned to see what they were looking at and saw Vanessa coming out of the fitting room.

Ashley's smile faltered as she looked at Vanessa's face and saw the internal battle with her emotions. She could tell that she was trying to hold it together, and was thankful for her friend's concern for her happiness, but also saw the hurt and, was it jealousy? She couldn't quite put her finger on the other emotion, and it was almost bothering her.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. "It's exactly what I would have pictured you in."

"I have two more I want to show you guys," Ashley said.

"I'd like to see them. Why don't I help you and let MoMo and Jen get changed?" she offered, and Ashley nodded. The two walked into the spacious fitting room where Ashley's clothes were with the other two gowns and Ashley immediately turned so Vanessa could unbutton the elegant gown that she currently was wearing. The two were silent, until Vanessa broke the silence.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what?" Ashley asked her best friend, as she looked up at the ceiling.

"I really am happy for you. I know I'm not showing it very well, and I'm sorry. I'm trying very hard to put my personal issues aside, especially during all the wedding talk, but it's hard. I just want you to know that I _am_ trying. I know this is about you and Scott and the special day that the two of you deserve, not me and Zac."

"Oh, Nessa, I know it's hard. I wish I could help you by kicking his ass into motion, because you deserve to have your fun planning your wedding, too, but I learned long ago that Zac has a mind of his own. You can't tell him anything. I really don't know what to tell you, other than just to trust him," she told Vanessa as she stepped out of her dress. Vanessa carefully hung the dress back up on the hanger.

"Which one next?" she asked looking at Ashley over her shoulder. She took the dress that Ashley pointed at off the hanger and held it down so Ashley could step into it before she continued.

"I love him, Ash. With all my heart, I love him. I want nothing more than to have my forever with him. I can't wait until we can plan my wedding, too, but I just can't help but wonder, you know?"

_What should I say, what should I say?_ Ashley searched her brain, trying to make herself sound like she didn't know anything.

"I know! I mean, it's been four years! Come on, man! Does he not realize that there are guys practically pounding down your door?" _Well played, Tizzy. Way to turn on those wonderful acting skills of your's!_

"Ashley-" Vanessa started, as she began to zip up dress number two.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't want to think about that, but it's true! What if he hasn't proposed by the end of year like he promised? Have you thought about that?" Ashley inwardly gasped, not quite ready for the possible reaction to that question.

"No," Vanessa admitted somberly. "I haven't."

"Valentine's Day!" Ashley suddenly exclaimed, reaching for something that could possibly give her best friend some hope, even though she knew he wasn't proposing on Valentine's Day.

_I'll handle the upset later. She needs something to hold onto right now,_ Ashley thought to herself.

"What?" Vanessa asked, thoroughly confused, sitting down on the bench in the fitting room.

"He'll do it on Valentine's Day! He's got to!"

"I don't know, Ashley. That's kind of cliché, don't you think? I mean, Zac's a far cry from cliché!"

_Thank you!_ Ashley exclaimed to herself. _She doesn't seem to believe that idea! Maybe she won't be so upset come Valentine's Day after all…_

"I know but-"

"I appreciate the concern, but I don't know. We'll see." Vanessa took in the sight before her of Ashley in the beautiful gown and let out a sigh. "Oh, Ash, it's stunning," she breathed. "I love it," she said.

"You do?"

"I do!"

"Which do you like better between the two I tried so far?"

"I really don't know. I think number two so far. Let's see what the others think," she said as she opened the door. "Get ready, ladies! Here she comes with number two!"

* * *

Later that night, after she and Zac had finished the baked spaghetti dinner with garlic bread he'd cooked for her, the two of them were sitting snuggled on the couch watching TV. As hard as she was trying to focus on the program, her mind kept wandering and the "What if's" started again. All she could think about was something Ashley said to her earlier that day.

"_He'll do it on Valentine's Day! He's got to!" _she heard Ashley's voice echo in her head.

Just as quickly as that thought came to her, another made its way to the forefront of her mind. _"…there are guys practically pounding down your door." _Vanessa had not had any other prospects, but What If?

_I don't know. Zac isn't the Valentine's type as it is. Would he really propose on Valentine's Day?_

As a commercial came on, she felt Zac move his arms from around her legs, which were resting in his lap, and watched as he stood and walked into the other room. Once she was alone, Vanessa allowed her imagination to run even further than it had already gone.

_Valentine's Day, _she thought as she held her left hand out in front of her, looking at the ring Zac had given her on her birthday. _Hmmm…_

"I'm back," Zac announced a few moments later, startling Vanessa. He picked her legs up and set them back in his lap as she jerked her hand back into her lap, looking back up at him with a forced smile. "You look awfully thoughtful there. What's up?"

"Oh, it's nothing," she quickly recovered. "I was just thinking about Valentine's Day," she told him as she turned so that she was sitting with her back to his front.

"What about it?" he asked.

"Do you have anything planned for us?" she asked as she took his hands in her smaller ones and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He let his arms rest across her front and leaned down to place a kiss on her temple as he thought about her question.

"No, not really," he answered as he ran his fingers through her hair. "I was thinking maybe a quiet evening at home," another kiss to her temple. "Just you," a kiss to her cheek, "and me." This time the kiss he gave her was to her neck. "At home," this kiss was placed lower on her neck. "No one around…" he let his voice trail off as he leaned down and kissed her shoulder that had been exposed a little bit when his too big on her t-shirt slipped down.

_OH MY GOD! Ashley was right! Why else would he want to be alone?!_

"I think I like the sound of that," she told him seductively as she turned in his arms and leaned in to kiss him. He responded to the kiss and it didn't take long before she felt him leaning her back down into the couch cushions, his hand slipping under her shirt. She returned the favor by slipping her hands under his shirt running them up his muscular back and over his biceps. Before long, the two were naked, and their heavy breathing and moans echoed throughout the house.

_I suddenly can't wait for Valentine's Day…_ was the last coherent thought that Vanessa remembered before Zac entered her and, within moments, had pushed her over the edge of ecstasy.


	3. Valentine's Day

_Don't own it. None of it; nothing mentioned in this or any other chapter. Never did and, sadly, never will. I do, however, own Tom and Louisa... unless there really is a head chef at one of Zac and Vanessa's favorite restaurants in LA named Tom and Vanessa really does have a housekeeper named Louisa . Then it's just irony that I used their names. _

_**Chapter 3**_

Valentine's Day had always been just another day for Vanessa and Zac. Their first official date after the filming and subsequent premiere of the original _High School Musical_ was the weekend prior to Valentine's Day. Even though he had his license by that point, he still didn't have a car, so would have to wait for the weekends when his parents didn't need both cars to get to work so he could borrow the car of whichever parent needed it less and make the three hour drive south to Los Angeles from Arroyo Grande to visit his beloved Vanessa. Valentine's Day of 2006 fell on Tuesday, so the two made their Valentine's Day plans for the weekend prior. Ever since, it's been impossible for the two of them to be together on the actual holiday, given their busy schedules with filming or promotional tours or photo shoots. This is the first year the couple will be able to actually spend the day together, and they were looking forward to it.

Their plans were to spend the day in meetings for Zac and a photo shoot for a cover of _Teen Vogue_ for Vanessa, and then the two would meet for lunch and would then return back to Vanessa's and spend the rest of the day together. Their Valentine's Day menu was being handled by Tom, one of the head chefs of one of their favorite restaurants, hired by Zac of course, and consisted of filet mignon, twice baked potatoes, and, despite Vanessa's protests, caramelized carrots, and asparagus with hollandaise sauce. The sauce was not Zac's favorite, but knew it would be the only way he could get Vanessa to eat even the tiniest bit of one of the two vegetables, so he agreed when the suggestion was made by Tom. They also planned on a Caesar salad and crescent rolls, and Vanessa had made a turtle cheesecake with caramel sauce to top it off and vanilla bean ice cream- Zac's favorite- for dessert the day before and was hoping that they wouldn't make it long enough to enjoy it.

She had seen Zac sneak in carrying a plain brown bag the day before and had tried to get him to tell her what was in the bag, but he wouldn't budge and spill any details. The day had arrived, and the two started the day with "breakfast", as Zac referred to it teasingly, causing Vanessa to giggle as she started to crawl out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" Zac asked as he reached out to her, grabbing her by the waist and tried to pull her back in bed.

"I've got to get" kiss "in the shower, Zac!" kiss "We both do. We have" kiss "professional commitments today." kiss "You know that," she said, reaching for her night shirt from the night before, which only came within inches of the top of her buttocks. "Your meeting is actually earlier than my photo shoot and is further away. Do you want to get in first?"

"I already got in, or were you too occupied to even notice?" he asked, as he leaned up to place a kiss on her body, just below her shirt.

"Subtle, Efron. Real subtle," she said, rolling her eyes as she looked down at his face as he looked up at her from his position near her behind, laying on his stomach. She reached down to run her fingers through his hair and brought her hand down to cup his chin before leaning down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "I'm going downstairs to get the coffee started. If you're in the shower when I come back upstairs, then I'll wait. If you're not, then I'll assume you're not getting in and I will," she warned him, while pointing a finger in his direction, as she stood up from her spot on the bed, pulling on her panties and a pair of his basketball shorts that were sitting on the floor, and walked out the bedroom.

"It's a plan," he called after her.

The two finished getting ready and left the house for their respective destinations at the same time.

"Call me when you're done and we'll meet for lunch," he told her, as he leaned in to give her a good-bye kiss and reaching out to open the door for her.

"I will. I don't expect it to take long. I've worked with them once already and they're really laid back and fun to work with," she said as she returned his kiss before climbing in her car.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Baby. I love you." He gave her one more kiss before shutting the door for her.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Zac. I love you too." She gave him a wave before driving off. Zac then walked back to his car, climbed in, and pulled out of the driveway, going in the opposite direction as his girlfriend.

* * *

After their morning plans and lunch together, the two separated into their own cars to commence the drive back to Vanessa's. As soon as Zac was in his car and began to drive and she knew the coast was clear, she picked up the phone to call Ashley. Once Ashley answered, the words began pouring from Vanessa's mouth.

"You're hypothetical situation may be happening!"

"What hypothetical situation?" she asked with a gasp, as an idea popped into her head. "Did another guy call you up for a Valentine's date? Oh, Nessa, what are you going to do?" _Way to go, Efron. You waited too long. How are you going to get yourself out of this? _Ashley thought to herself, beginning to panic. _One crisis at a time. I'll call him as soon as I'm done with Nessa._

"No, Ash, another guy did not call me for a Valentine's date. Zac and I are actually, for the first time in the whole four years that we've been together, able to spend the day together and he hired a chef to come cook dinner for us tonight and I made dessert. I'm talking about the proposal!"

Ashley's eye grew wide. _Oh, shit! I definitely need to call him now! _ "Uh, the- the proposal? Tonight? Really? You think?" she stammered, trying her hardest to cover up the fact that she knew something. _Keep cool, Tizzy. Don't give anything away._

"Well, maybe. I mean, the night I got home from the bridal shop and trying on the dresses, we were talking about tonight. I asked if he had thought about our plans for today and he mentioned just a quiet evening at home, just the two of us, all alone. He said, and I quote, 'with no one around to interfere with our celebration'. Why would we need to celebrate, Ash? Especially in private? I mean, other than sexually, but you know what I mean. And, just two days ago, I saw him come in with a plain, brown paper bag, no markings at all, and when I asked about it, he clammed up and wouldn't tell me anything about it! Now what does that tell you? I think he's planning to ask me tonight."

_Nice, Efron. Way to not make her suspicious. _ "I don't know, Nessa," she lied. "It sounds that way to me." _Now what do I say? I need to get off the phone and warn Zac. _"But listen, as much as I'd love to stay on the phone with you right now and speculate, I really need to go. Scott will be here soon and I need to go get ready."

"Okay, you guys have fun."

"You too, Hon. Call me and let me knows what happens!"

"You're the seventh person on my Need to Call list!"

"Seventh?" Ashley questioned. "I mean, I can understand your parents and all, but you guys only have four of those! Where do the other two calls come in?"

"Stella and Dylan," Vanessa quickly answered. "Then you. Go get ready and I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Nessa. You have fun tonight, too. Love!" she said, as she quickly hung up before Vanessa could answer, and searched her contact list for Zac's number. He answered almost immediately.

"Hey, Ash, what's-"

"Don't act coy with me, Efron! What happened to the plan with Bart?" she demanded.

Zac pulled the phone a few inches from his ear, looking at it in confusion. "What are you talking about?" he questioned hesitantly when he brought the phone back to his ear.

"The plan, Zac! What happened to the plan?" she asked again.

"Nothing happened to the plan. We're still on for May. Why?" Suddenly, he smacked the palm of his right hand against his forehead as the answer to his question dawned on him. "She thinks I'm proposing tonight, doesn't she?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"So, wait, you're not proposing tonight?"

"On a night when she'd be expecting it? No! Ashley, why would I propose on Valentine's Day? That's so predictable!"

"Oh, God. Zac, I have a feeling you may possibly have some 'splainin to do later tonight," she told him with her best Ricky Ricardo impersonation.

"Why would she think that? Think, Efron, think. What kind of signals have I displayed?" he asked himself out loud. He quickly turned his attention back to the blond on the other end of the phone lines. "Did she mention anything to you?"

Ashley began to explain how the conversation with Vanessa played out just moments ago. When she was finished, she asked him "So, what is in the illustrious bag, Zac?"

"I'm not telling you!"

"Why not?" she whined.

"Because you'll tell her!"

"No, I won't. I can keep a secret. Maui's still with me, right?" she asked, referring to the threat he made on her precious dog should she say anything about his Proposal Plan.

"Well, yeah, that's true. You've done great so far, but I still can't tell you because I just got back to Van's and she beat me home. I'd better go before she suspects anything else. Only now, I need to try not to make tonight too romantic. Try and throw her mind off course."

"Yeah, good luck with that. I don't think her mind will get off course until the proposal actually happens. But at any rate, you two have fun tonight. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, Tizz, later," he said, as he hit end on his phone. He got out of the car and looked up at the massive building that Vanessa had worked hard to turn into a home, the same one which the two decided awhile ago would become _their_ home once they were married. _Okay, Efron, time to go turn on the charm and calm her down AGAIN. Man, I wish May would hurry up and get here so I can just ask her and get it over with! This waiting is killing me! _he thought to himself. _Maybe I should ask her tonight… No! You've got a plan! Stick to the plan._ He pushed his key in the door to unlock it, swung it open, and called out to his future fiancée.

"Van? Baby, I'm back," he called out, pausing to listen for anything that would give away her where-abouts. When he heard to water running in the upstairs bathroom, he grinned and began the climb to the second floor. As he pushed open the door to the bathroom which was located off the master bedroom, the sight that greeted him was that of his goddess sitting on the side of the bath tub with a towel wrapped around her, running the water, and dropping some bath oil balls into the water.

"Hey, Baby. I'm back," he greeted her, leaning down to give her a quick kiss in greeting, before going into the closet and pulling a plain brown paper bag down off the shelf.

"Oh, hey, Babe. I just thought I'd get in the bath for awhile and kind of relax before tonight. I hope that's okay?" She leaned forward to turn off that water as she watched him come out of the closet.

"Yeah, that's fine. I need to set up before Tom gets here. He should be here in about an hour or so."

"Oh, okay," she said, as she climbed into the bath tub. She watched him as he emerged from the closet. "Hey, what's in the bag?" she asked casually, pointing at the bag he was holding in his arms.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just some candles and such." He held open the bag for her to look in. She spotted the candles, the red tablecloth, the red cloth napkins, and two champagne glasses, and felt her heart drop to her stomach. The next time she spoke, she tried hard to hide her slight disappointment.

"Oh, okay. Where'd you get that stuff?"

"I borrowed it from Mom. You relax with your bath salts or bubbles or whatever it is you do when you're in the bath relaxing and I'll be downstairs. I'll see you when you're out." He leaned down to give her another kiss on her lips before walking out of the bathroom.

"You're definitely up to something, Zachary," she said to herself, as Shadow pushed open the door that Zac closed part way on his way out. "What do you think, Shadow? What's Daddy up to?" Shadow gave her a look and let out a brief bark in response. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she told her puppy before leaning back to rest her head on the inflatable pillow that she had stuck to the back of her bath tub.

* * *

That evening, after dinner had been prepared, the two of them sat side by side at the small intimate table that Vanessa had in her huge dining room. Zac had often asked her why she had such a small table in such a big room.

"Because right now, it's just you and me. Our families don't come often enough and when they do, we always go out. When I finally need a bigger table, I'll get one. But for right now, I don't," was the response she always gave.

The table had been set using Starla's red tablecloth and napkins. The two champagne glasses had been borrowed from Gina, and the five candles in various sizes came from Monique. He finally had to let her in on the secret, too, only because the day after the girls went dress shopping, she had called him, filling him in on the day and her impression of Vanessa's mood and the situation. She gave him what she liked to call the 'Southern Tongue Bashing', something which he and all the other core _High School Musical_ guys had encountered on several occasions, and he'd learned from past experiences that the only way to get past that was to give in to whatever she was requesting. So, he finally broke and let Monique in on his Proposal Plan. After all, it wouldn't hurt to have one more person who knew and he could use to help ease Vanessa when it didn't happen time after time.

So here he was, sitting at the small four person table which he'd lovingly set for a quiet, intimate dinner for just the two of them. They had decided to not dress up, just to wear jeans and be comfortable. Zac had pulled out Vanessa's chair for her when Tom told them that dinner was ready before sitting in the seat opposite her's. They indulged in the dinner that had been prepared for them and, when Tom asked if they were ready for dessert, Zac had asked him to hold off for a few minutes.

"It's present time," he answered the question that he saw in her eyes, before getting up to go into the other room. When he came back, he had one arm behind his back and held a box in the other. She eyes him curiously, not sure exactly what to expect. The box was the size of a standard shirt box.

_Okay, Zac. What's going on? That box is too big for a ring,_ she thought to herself.

As he approached her side of the table, he pulled the hand that was behind his back back around front and held out the bouquet of lilies and daisies, all in different shades of red. She let out a soft gasp as she took in the beauty of the flowers.

"Oh, Zac, they're gorgeous!" She reached out to take the flowers from him and brought them up to her nose, taking in their smell.

"The daisies because they're your favorite flower, the lilies because I didn't want to be cliché and get roses like everyone else does; lilies are different. And they're in different shades of red because that's your favorite color."

"Well, they're beautiful," she said again, as she set them in the center of the table. "Thank you." She leaned in to give him a kiss.

"They better be! Do you realize how hard it was to find this particular shade?" he asked as he pointed to one of the flowers. She gave him a soft smile in return.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing at the box that he had since laid on the table beside him.

"Oh, this?" He picked up the box and gave it to her. "It's actually two things. I put them together. I hope you don't mind that it's not wrapped. I know how much you like unwrapping things."

"No, I don't mind," she reassured him as she pulled the top off the box. She moved the tissue paper aside and saw a piece of paper folded in half with a cd sitting on top of it. She picked up the cd and, without looking at it fully but long enough to notice the computer made, low quality picture that he found on the internet and printed out himself and used as the cover, couldn't help but pick on him a little bit.

"Hacking one of my cd's off the net again, Efron?"

"No, Hudgens, not this time. That was only once and I told you, I'd misplaced my copy and needed to hear you singing me to sleep and then I found it the next week. Look at the cover closer," he directed her, and she did as she was told, taking in the picture of the two of them from the Teen Choice Awards last August. They were sitting in their seats, him with his arm around her and she leaning in to him just a little with her hands clasped together and resting on his left knee. They were looking up at the person taking the picture, who was standing above them, and softly smiling. She smiled as she remembered when the picture was taken.

"I love that picture," she said looking at him and giving him the same kind of smile that she wore in the picture.

"Turn it over and look at the song list." She did as she was told, and saw a list of ten songs. "They're all songs that remind me of us. Either at different points of our relationship, or the here and now. Either way, these songs represent us to me. Here, let me put it in and we'll listen to it together." She handed him the cd and watched as he walked over to the cd player in the den and waited until he heard the music come through the speakers, before he turned to come back to her. The first song, "Haven't Met You Yet" by Michael Buble, began and Vanessa's smile grew wider.

"I love this song!"

"I know, I've heard you blaring it every time it comes on. This one sort of describes us before we met. 'I know that we can be so amazing and your love is going to change me… I just haven't met you yet,'. Then one day, we meet and the rest, as they say, is history. Here we are!" He paused as he watched her. She gave him a soft smile and he leaned in to give her a brief kiss. "You have changed me, Van. I love you so much. I can't wait until we can start forever."

_Breathe, Vanessa. Breathe. Don't pass out before he proposes!_ She leaned in to give him another kiss, this one longer than the other.

"Can I look at the paper now?" she asked as she leaned back in her seat once again.

"Yeah, go ahead, but I need to explain this one," he told her as she picked up the paper. He found himself holding his breath as she unfolded it and looked at it.

"It's a flight itinerary," she told him and continued to read it. "From LAX to Utah?"

"Yeah, I thought that we'll go to Arroyo Grande on May 8th, the day before Mother's Day, and spend Mother's Day morning into early afternoon with my mom. Then we'll drive back down here to spend the late afternoon into the night with your mom. The next day- May 10th- we'll board a plane and I'm taking you somewhere. We've both been crazy busy the past several months and need a vacation. You know, to just get away from it all and relax."

"Utah?" she asked again, her eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"Yeah, I know a little place and have connections. Actually, Bart told me about it when we were filming the third movie. He goes there all the time and said it's a good place to just relax. Small, intimate, and family owned and operated. Wow, now I sound like a commercial. What do you say? Up for a little adventure this spring?"

"Yeah, sure, why not? You're right, we both need to get away and relax," she agreed. She suddenly let out a little gasp as an idea occurred to her. "Hey, is this place a spa?" she asked excitedly.

"It _has_ a spa, yes, but that's all you're getting out of me regarding this place. It has a spa and is in Utah. That's it," he told her as the next song started. "Now, Ms. Hudgens, may I have this dance?" he asked as he held his hand out to her.

"Of course," she answered as she took his hand and allowed him to lead her to the center of the room. He wrapped his arms around her petit waist as she followed his lead and reached hers up to wrap around his neck. They just stood like that for a moment, enjoying the feel of each other's arms and listening to the words of Harry Connick, Jr. as he sang "Smile". After a moment, Zac started to sing along.

"…although a tear may be ever so near, that's the time you must keep on trying. Smile, what's the use of crying? You'll find that life is still worth while if you just smile."

She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss.

"What's the meaning behind that one?" she asked, as she came back down on her feet, but not before running her thumb over his lips to wipe off the little trace of lip gloss that she had left behind.

"The pictures," he said simply, as he brought a hand up to run it through her silky hair. "Van, no matter what the courts decide, just promise me that you'll keep smiling. No matter what happens in life or even, God forbid, with us, please smile through it. You're smile is what keeps me going and if I ever lose that…" he stopped talking when she placed a finger against his lips, and followed it up with her lips.

"Zac, you're not going to lose my smile. Nothing could ever take me away from you," she said, forcing a smile. _Not even non-proposals, _she thought to herself, bitterly. "Face it, you're with me for the long haul!"

"Well, aren't I the lucky one?" he asked, as the next song, "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliet, came on.

"Nice segue," she told him sarcastically.

"Thanks, I thought you'd appreciate that!" he said. "You know, I really like this one. It's really 'us'."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, like the song says, 'Lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again…' The one person that I want to spend the rest of my life with is you. You're my best friend, you're where I belong, you're home for me." She felt his movements stop and her world stood still.

_Okay, that was unexpected. Could this be it?!_ Vanessa thought to herself, as her heart rate sped up.

"I love you, Vanessa."

"I love you, too." The song changed at that point to "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders, and without taking the conversation any further, Zac just pulled Vanessa closer to him again and continued their dance.

_That was weird. I really thought… Damn it, Efron! Quit getting my hopes up!_ Vanessa let out a soft sigh, and Zac pulled back just a little to look into her eyes.

"Tired?" he asked.

She forced another smile and gave a meek "Yeah, I guess so. More tired than I realized."

"Why don't we just go on up? I'll take care of the clean up tomorrow."

"Zac, Louisa's coming tomorrow," she told pointedly him, referring to her housekeeper who came in once a month to give a full, in depth cleaning. She had gotten better about keeping her house straightened up on a daily basis, but Louisa came in to get the stuff that didn't need to be done every single day.

"Well, then, my job's done!" he announced. "Come on, Babe. Let's go to bed."

"But what about dessert?" she asked with a slight pout, pointing at the cheesecake she'd slaved over for hours, just for him.

"We can have it in bed."

"Cheesecake in bed? Zac, seri- oh!" She let out a moan as his mouth connected without warning to her neck.

"Who said I was talking about the cheesecake?" he asked, as he continued the damage he'd started to her neck, biting down gently.

"You seem to be getting awfully arrogant there, Efron! What if I wanted cheesecake?"

"Well, then, how do you plan to prove me wrong?"

"At this point, I don't think I care to," she said. "Oh, Zac, I didn't get to give you your present!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"That's okay, you can give it to me upstairs."

"Well, that's a good thing, because it's already up there," she told him seductively, referring to the black negligee she picked up from Victoria's Secret just for this occasion, as she pulled away and started to walk towards the stairs. He watched her every move, every sachet of her hips, as she walked away. She paused at the bottom step and turned back around to look at him. She gave a look that was only meant for the two of them. He felt the desire swarm through him followed by the usual reaction his body had when she looked at him that way.

"Well? Aren't you coming?" she challenged and that was all it took for him to come back to life. He immediately raced to the stairs, grabbed her by the waist, and tossed her over his shoulder fireman style, carrying her the rest of the way to the bedroom, as she gave out a squeal. The rest of the night was just as they imagined it to be. Full of the need, craving, and yearning for each other.

It wasn't long before Vanessa pushed all the thoughts of the evening and the nonexistent proposal to the back of her mind. She was now fully focused on one thing and one thing only. And that one thing was the chiseled body of the man that was currently doing things to her that were causing her to see stars.


	4. Pain in the Mouth

_Okay, before anyone gets their panties in a twist, let it be known that "Bandslam" does come out in March and "Beastly" is slotted for a July release. For the sake of the story, however, -it'll all make sense soon- they both come out in March. Also, I've had my wisdom teeth out, so there is some reality to this chapter. Once again, I don't own anything in this story... except the hygienist._

_**Chapter 4**_

The days that followed were a blur for Zac and Vanessa. The rest of February consisted of meetings for her, as the premiere of _Beastly _was quickly approaching as well as the DVD release of _Bandslam,_ both within the last week of March and her manager Evan was ironing out all the kinks of her schedule. She had television appearances, radio interviews, photo shoots, and so forth coming up. Her calendar was jammed packed. Zac, on the other hand, had been approached with the possibility of a guest slot on a television program, and had been meeting with his manager Jason to perfect his own schedule.

Vanessa had used this busy time to push the Proposal That Never Will Be, as she was now calling it to herself, out of her head. While being busy gave her an excuse to not think about it, trying to not think about had become her number one priority at the present and therefore only resulted in causing her to be more distressed about the situation. The two of them have had a few tiffs over petty things over the past few weeks, like the time someone called the house and left a message on the answering machine and Zac deleted it by accident. That someone was Vanessa's mom and she ended up reaching Vanessa on her cell phone, so it ended up being no big deal in the long run, but Vanessa still made a bigger deal out of it than necessary. Zac of course didn't understand why Vanessa was being so moody for the past two and a half weeks and made the mistake of mentioning as much to Vanessa one afternoon in early March.

"Hey, why are you so moody?" he bravely asked, not looking forward to her response. He'd been down this road before and knew he was probably playing with fire, yet he was prepared for the outcome.

"I'm not moody!" she snapped at her boyfriend, who currently had his head stuck in the Xbox game he was playing, which only added to her annoyance. "And seriously, if you're going to sit here all day playing video games, could you at least put the dishes in the dishwasher first?"

"Oh, you're right, Baby. You're being your normal, bubbly, cheerful self," he said with a hint of attitude in his voice. She narrowed her eyes at him and let out a huff, which resulted in him pausing the game with a sigh and turned to face her. "Van, seriously, I love you, but you've been really moody and snappy since Valentine's Day and frankly, I'm sick of it! Now tell me what's going on!" he demanded, standing up and crossing the room to stand in front of her.

"It's nothing, Zac."

"It is something, Van. What's bugging you?" She gave him a withering look, before turning her back to him and walking towards the stairs.

"PMS, now leave me alone," was all she said before storming upstairs.

Zac raised his eyebrows skeptically, not buying her explanation for one second. He'd been with her long enough to know her "schedule" and also had seen the "evidence" of "it" the week prior in the bathroom trash can. That was when he knew something was indeed wrong. He took a deep breath walked upstairs to try and talk to her about it once again, and when he reached the bedroom and noticed the door closed, he reached his hand out to open it, only to find it locked.

_That's odd,_ he thought to himself. _She never locks the door unless there's something serious going on._

"Hey, Van?" he called out, tapping softly on the door. "Open up, Babe. I know it's not PMS." When he got no answer, he knocked again. "Van?" He listened closer and thought he heard a sniffle this time. "Baby, please open up! I can tell you're upset." He stood there for a moment, listening to her tears through the door, and took a couple of steps back when he heard her turn the lock of the bedroom door. When she finally opened the door, he took in her appearance and noticed the tears pouring from her eyes. He was just about to step forward and take her in his arms when she suddenly threw herself at him and mumbled something into his shoulder.

"Van, I can't understand you," he gently told her as he pulled her back a little. He looked into her deep brown eyes racked with hurt and his heart broke at the sight. He led her back into the bedroom and set her down in the armchair while he sat on the ottoman in front of her, taking both of her hands in his. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"It hurts, Zac."

"What hurts?"

"My mouth," she told him quietly, almost embarrassed. "It hurts all over. I've seriously never felt this much pain before."

"Is that why you've been so moody and not sleeping lately?"

"Yeah," she admitted sheepishly. "I get comfortable and finally fall asleep, and then the pain kicks in again and wakes me up."

"How long has this been going on?"

"About two weeks," she mumbled.

"What?! Two weeks? Van!" Vanessa lowered her eyes, feeling the way she did when she had just been scolded by her father at the age of five. "Did you call the dentist?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've got an appointment for the day after tomorrow."

"Day after tomorrow? When did you call?"

"When it first started?" she said, with a questioning tone in her voice, hoping he'd believe it. When he just sat there staring at her, she could see that he was not going to fall for it and finally gave in. "Yesterday," she admitted ruefully.

"Oh, Baby, come here," he told her, gently pulling her to a standing position and sitting down in the chair. He guided her to his lap and let her just put her head down on his shoulder and held her. When her tears subsided, he finally spoke again.

"Have you been taking anything for the pain?"

"Just Tylenol, but it's not helping much," she softly told him.

"You know, it may be your wisdom teeth."

"I don't have time to have my wisdom teeth out! I've got interviews and premieres and stuff! I'm going to be leaving soon," she pointed out.

"Alright, then, I'll call for you and cancel your appointment and you can work through the pain," he said, trying to make a point. As he tried to sit up and reached for the phone, she grasped onto his shirt tightly and kept him from doing so.

"No!" she cried. "I guess I can make time if that's what it is. I mean, it's only, like, one day, right?"

"I think so. I'm not positive, though. I've still got mine."

"Yeah, rub it in, thanks," she snapped before the pain struck again. "Ow," she whispered, sniffling, and placed her hands on her cheeks, trying to rub out the pain. Zac merely placed his hands over her's and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. He set her on her feet and pulled the covers back, helping her into the bed before tucking her in.

"I'll go get you some more Tylenol. Try and get some rest."

"Okay," she said, as she snuggled down under the covers. He gave her one more kiss and turned to exit the room, closing the door behind him.

* * *

That Wednesday, Vanessa left the dentist's office with an appointment card in her hand. When she got back in the car, she immediately reached for her phone and hit speed dial 1. When the other person answered, they knew right away what happened.

"When is your appointment?" Zac asked

"Appointment for what?" she asked, trying to distract him.

"Van, I talked to Mom and she said that based on what you told me, it's definitely your wisdom teeth. Now, I can bet you anything- and will win- that the dentist gave you an appointment to have your wisdom teeth out. Am I right?"

"Yes," she woefully admitted to him.

"So, when's your appointment?" he asked again.

"Friday. Dr. Gambrell said the procedure is only about an hour and then I can go home and be recovering from there. I don't have to change anything in my schedule because I don't leave until Monday anyway. I won't be able to eat for about twenty-four hours, and after that, only soft stuff. I do have to come back a week later for a follow up to see how everything looks, which means Evan will be a mess rearranging stuff when I tell him."

"I'll make sure I'm there to take you. Don't worry about Evan. I'll take care of him."

"Okay. Anyway, I was just calling to let you know I'm on my way home. Are you at mine or your's?"

"I'm at mine. Are you coming by?"

"Yeah. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too," he replied before hanging up.

Two days later, Zac and Vanessa entered the dentist's office. She was nervous to say the least, and was glad Zac was there to be her support. As they sat in the waiting room, Zac just held her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her knuckles. When the hygienist called her name, she looked at him with panic in her eyes.

"Can I walk back with her?" he asked.

"Yes, of course!" the hygienist answered, smiling.

Zac stood, pulling Vanessa with him, and kept his arm across the small of her back as they followed the hygienist to the room.

"I'm Gabriella," the hygienist told them, with a small smirk. Zac and Vanessa shared a look and tried to hold in their laughter. "It's okay, you can laugh at the irony. I know you want to. I actually thought that, too, when I saw your name in the computer," she said, sharing a laugh with the other two in the room. When they recovered from the almost comical introductions, Vanessa finally took a look around the room before sitting in the chair and noticed a mask which will cover her face.

"What's that?" she asked timidly, pointing at the mask.

"That's the anesthesia. You're going to be put to sleep for this procedure, so you won't feel anything during," Gabriella reassured her. "Don't worry, Ms. Hudgens. We're going to do all we can to make this go a smoothly as possible for you."

"Thank you, and you can call me Vanessa."

Right at that moment, the door opened and all three turned to see another person enter the room.

"Vanessa," he greeted her.

"Hi, Dr. Gambrell. I'd like you to meet Zac."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Efron," he said as he reached out a hand to the younger man.

"Zac, please. Mr. Efron's my father."

The doctor proceeded to tell Zac about the procedure and what he and Vanessa could expect in the recovery process in the upcoming week.

"I know, Vanessa, that you've got a premiere coming up and appearances proceeding it, meaning that you'll be traveling. When do you leave?" Dr. Gambrell asked.

"Monday."

"You should be okay by then. I understand that your follow up appointment has to be rescheduled?"

"Only by a few days or so. I'll have Zac call and take care of that for me while I'm gone."

"Okay, that'll be fine. Now, Zac, once she's finally out- which will only take a few seconds being as small as she is- I'm going to ask you to step back out to the waiting room and Gabriella will come get you when I'm done. Any questions?"

When they both shook their heads no, Dr. Gambrell turned back to Vanessa.

"Are you ready to get this over with?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," she said in a small voice, reaching for Zac's hand, which he immediately took and gave a gentle squeeze. He leaned down and gave her a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be right here when you wake up, Baby," he told her lovingly.

"Okay, Vanessa, here we go." The doctor picked up the mask and placed it on her face.

"Now, can I just get you to count backwards from 100?" Gabriella instructed.

Vanessa took a deep breath and began. "100... 99... 98... 97..." by the time she reached 96, her pauses became further apart and by 92, her counting had stopped fully. Once Dr. Gambrell was certain that she was fully asleep, looked at Zac and gave a small nod. Zac gave her hand another squeeze and when he had let himself out of the room, Dr. Gambrell began his work.

While he was waiting, Zac had made a few phone calls- one to Greg and Gina, one to his own parents, and one to Evan. He had managed to get Vanessa's schedule rearranged so she would be back in LA sooner and only had to reschedule her appointment for three days later. He felt like he had only been in the waiting room for mere moments when Gabriella came to get him, but when he looked at his watch, he noticed it had been about fifty minutes.

After getting all of the care instructions and her prescription for the pain medicine, Vanessa was waking up slightly. He helped her into the wheel chair and went to pull the car to the back entrance- to avoid any paparazzi that may be lurking out front- as Gabriella met him with his girlfriend, who had again fallen asleep. He got out to help Vanessa into the car, and thanked Gabriella for all her help. As he was pulling away, he caught sight of one photographer coming around the bushes, apparently upset that the always popular Zanessa had once again been missed.

When they returned home, he carried Vanessa up the stairs and into the bedroom and got her settled in the bed so she would be more comfortable. He went back downstairs and into the kitchen and looked over the care instructions.

"Warm towels… I'll wait on those until she wakes up. Liquid diet for 48 hours… what would she want?" he said to himself. "Egg drop soup!" he exclaimed with a snap of his fingers. "She loves that!" When he hung up the phone after calling the Chinese restaurant up the road that the two of them frequented, he got another idea.

After checking his wallet to see if he had a five dollar bill, he made his way up the stairs and quietly snuck into her bedroom. He started searching through her jewelry box and found what he was looking for. He pulled out the small square box, opened it, and carefully took out the ruby ring that she wore to one of the many awards shows that they had been to. He then traded the ring with the five dollar bill from his wallet and gently set the ring in the jewelry box, and made his way back downstairs to wait on the egg drop soup.

* * *

When she started waking up, Vanessa noticed the sun sneaking in through the cracks of the closed blinds and looked at the clock on the bed side table. Seeing that it said 1:45, she sat up in bed, looking beside her for Zac. When she didn't see him, she opened her mouth to call out for him, only to immediately close it again.

"Ow," she said.

"Hurt?"

She looked up and saw Zac leaning against the doorframe watching her, holding a tray in his hand.

"How long have you been there?" she asked him as he came further into the room and scooted over to make room for him on the side of the bed. He carefully laid the tray on the bedside table and sat down.

"Since you woke up. I've got your medicine. It says that you're supposed to take it every four hours. I also ordered you some egg drop. Are you ready to try and eat?"

"I think so," she said, reaching for the two pills and glass of water that was sitting on the tray next to the cup of soup.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" he said suddenly, as Vanessa took a sip, causing her to choke on the water and spill a little. "Sorry," he apologized, as he got up to get a towel from the bathroom. He came back and started to wipe up the water that had trickled down her chin. Once she was cleaned up, he continued. "I got a little something for you to try and help you feel better."

"You did?"

"Mm-hmmm," he nodded, pointing to the small square box that rested on the tray. She was looking at his handsome face as she reached for the box, when she froze.

_Wait,_ she thought to herself. _A __**little**__ something? Exactly how little?_

"Van?" Zac noticed how she had frozen her movements. "What's that matter?"

Upon hearing his voice, she forced herself to snap out of her reverie and took the box in her slightly shaky hands.

"Um, no- uh, nothing. Nothing's the matter," she stammered. _Way to go, Vanessa Anne. He doesn't think you suspect anything! Oh, no, you're the picture of coolness!_

"Then why are your hands shaking?" he asked her confused.

"No reason!" she exclaimed, trying hard to cover up her suspicions. She slowly took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she opened the box. Vanessa let out the breath that she was holding and smiled as she looked down into the box to see the beautiful, shiny, diamond- five dollar bill? Her eyes knit together in confusion and her smile faded as she looked up at her boyfriend, who was looking at her with a smirk.

"Zac, that's a five dollar bill," she told him with a slight edge to her voice, taking the green paper out of the jewelry box and holding it up.

"Yeah, you know, like the Tooth Fairy! One dollar for every tooth you got pulled today, plus a little extra!"

"Zac?"

"Yeah?"

"It's not a-" She was about to tell him what was on her mind, but stopped when she looked in his eyes.

_He looks so excited. He really thought his joke would make me feel better. _She reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair, resting them on his cheek.

"Thank you. It was a really sweet thought," she said quietly. _It could have been a lot sweeter, though._

"I'm going to go back downstairs, so you can rest. Here's the remote for the TV. Do you need anything? Oh, wait! There is one more thing." He stood up and walked into the bathroom again, only to return with two hand towels. "I'll be right back."

While he was gone, she allowed her mind to wander. _I can't believe him! _She pulled the throw pillow into her lap and held it, sulking a little as she angrily fingered the tassels hanging off the corner. A few minutes later he came back with the two towels. "The care instructions that were sent home with us said something about warm towels. I thought maybe they would help."

"Thank you," she told him again.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little, I don't know, bothered about something. Do you want to talk?" he asked her, with concern in his voice.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just going to eat and then maybe go back to sleep. Thank you again for my five dollars."

"Alright, well, if you're sure you're okay…" he started, as she gave him a pointed look.

"I'm fine," she said again. He picked up on the edge to her voice, and just stood up, leaned forward, and placed a kiss to her forehead.

"Then I guess I'll talk to you after awhile." He straightened back up and turned to leave the room. When he got to the door, he stopped, debating on if he was going to say more and dig deeper to find out the reason behind Vanessa's attitude. When he turned around and looked at her again, he noticed that she had turned on the TV and was flipping through the channels, looking a little perturbed.

_Let it go, Zac. She'll talk when she's ready, _he thought to himself. He continued out of the bedroom and made his way downstairs. He picked out a video game from the collection he kept at her house, inserted it into the PS3, and sat down on the couch. He was intent to let out all his frustration towards his girlfriend and her persistent attitude that she had been exhibiting lately, and in his mind, the world of video games was just the way to do so.


	5. Fear

_Once again, I don't own it._

_**Chapter 5**_

Later in the day, just when Zac thought Vanessa's mood was getting more tolerable, she withdrew once more and started snapping at him again after that first time upon returning home. He decided to simply leave the tray of food on the bedside table and let her have her mood all to herself. She only spoke to him again three hours later when he came upstairs to check on her after hearing the toilet flush. He climbed the stairs and cautiously approached the bedroom, peaking in through the crack that was there from the door not being shut all the way.

"Van?" he called out her name when he didn't see her in the bed. He noticed that the TV was on and Shadow was stretched out, basking in the sunlight that streamed in through the partially open blinds. She looked up at him when she heard Zac's voice. He approached the bed and leaned in to give her a little scratch between the ears, and she leaned into his palm. He brought his head down to the dog's level, who immediately gave him a small lick on his face. "You looking out for her, girl?" he asked. Shadow gave out a bark in response, looked over his shoulder when the two heard a noise behind them, and pulled her head out of Zac's hand. Zac turned to look and saw Vanessa coming out of the bathroom and he then looked back down at Shadow, who had moved to the other side of the bed, as if she was betraying her owner by being friendly to him. "Hey, Baby. How are you feeling?" he asked standing up straight.

"Fine," she said simply. He was taken aback at the shortness of her answer, and had to take a deep breath to control his temper, which he felt rising, before speaking again.

"Okay, that's good. Do you need anything?"

"No," she told him, climbing back in the bed and pulling the covers back over her legs. Shadow came back up to the head of the bed and forced herself under Vanessa's arm, as though seeking protection. From what, she didn't know, but she felt as though something was wrong between the two humans that she'd come to be loyal to in her short life.

"Okay," Zac said. His face brightened whey he got an idea and left the room, only to return a moment later with a bell in his hand. "Here. If you need anything, ring this." She just looked at him in disbelief.

"Zac, you're not a slave who needs to be summoned and I'm not an invalid. If I need anything I can get it myself," she snapped.

"Okay, fine," he told her as he held his hands up as if in surrender, before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. He made his way back downstairs and sat down on the couch again, reaching for his phone as it rang. "Hello?"

"Hey, Zac, it's me. I was just calling to check on Nessa. How is she?" Upon hearing Ashley's voice on the other end of the phone line, Zac let out a sigh. He began to tell her the whole story about how Vanessa had been really moody the past couple of weeks and what had happened earlier that day.

"Ashley, I don't get it. Everything I say or do lately is apparently not good enough for her. I thought that the pain from her wisdom teeth would be a contributing factor to her attitude and I get that there may be some lingering pain from the procedure this morning, but this is outrageous!"

"Do you want me to come by and see if I can talk to her?"

"I appreciate the offer and she may open up to you, but maybe not today. She might think that I put you up to it or something. That would be just one more thing for her to jump all over me about!"

"Okay, I see your point, I guess. I'll come by tomorrow. I'll use the excuse that I'm helping her to pack for her promo tour."

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Are you staying there tonight?"

"I think so. The way she's been acting, I don't really want to, but someone needs to be here with her in case she needs something."

"I'll call MoMo. She'll want an excuse to come stay with Nessa!"

"That's a good idea, but don't let her know about her being moody. She might think there's something going on with the two of us, and I myself don't even know what's going on!"

"Don't worry. I won't say anything about that. Let me go so I can call her. I'll text you and let you know what she says."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." The two of them hung up and he returned to his video game. After a few minutes, his phone buzzed with a text.

_MoMo's in. She'll be there soon._

_Thanks, Tizzy,_ he responded. When Monique showed up about an hour later, with an overnight bag in her hand, she accepted a hug from Zac.

"How are ya'?" she asked him.

"I'm okay, I guess. I know this may sound selfish of me, but I'm really tired. Van hasn't been sleeping lately and I need to head home to get some rest and a shower," he lied, quickly racking his brain for a reason why he wouldn't want to stay there. "Thanks for coming; I appreciate it. I didn't want to leave her alone tonight."

"Don't worry about it!" she gently chastised him. "I don't mind one bit. You go on home and get some rest of your own."

"I will. Let me just go up and tell her bye." He climbed the stairs and softly knocked on the door before letting himself in.

"Hey, Van? Monique is here. She's going to stay with you tonight. I'm going to go on back to my place and I'll see you tomorrow," he told her as he approached the bed. She just nodded her head while keeping her focus on the movie that was playing on the TV that he mounted on the wall when she first moved into the house. "I love you," he said as he leaned down to give her a small kiss. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile before turning her face back to the TV, causing his lips to meet her cheek. He let out a sigh, conceding defeat for now. "Okay, fine. I'll see you tomorrow," he said again, before going back into the hall and closing the door. When he turned around, he saw Monique standing there, with her bag on the floor beside her and her eyebrows raised and a knowing look on her face.

"Why do I get the feeling that there's more going on than you just needing some rest and a good shower?" she accused, folding her arms across her chest in front of her.

He let out another sigh and placed his hand on the small of her back. "Why don't we go back downstairs and I'll fill you in."

When the two of them were standing in the den, Zac let the whole story out about Vanessa and her attitude of late.

"Zac, don't worry too much about it. She just has a lot on her plate right now. I'm sure it's nothing major and this too shall pass. Remember, you are the music in her." She paused when she saw him offer a small smile at her attempted joke. "She wouldn't let something as special as what the two of yall have just fizzle away without a fight."

"Yeah, I know," Zac said sheepishly. "I just need a break for a little bit."

"It'll be fine. Go," she said, leading him to the door and opening it. "Get some rest and clean up a bit. You need to shave; you look like shit."

"Gee, thanks, Mo. I knew I could count on you with your kind Southern manners!" he joked.

She just smiled at him and shooed him out the door. "We'll see you tomorrow, lover boy!" she called after him. She watched as he offered a small wave to her, climbed into his Audi, and drove off before going back inside.

"Okay, Nessa. What's going on with you?" she asked as she walked towards the stairs. When she pushed open the door to Vanessa's bedroom, she saw her friend laying in the bed, leaning back on the pillows stacked against the headboard, with her devoted dog beside her. Vanessa didn't even look up when she heard a noise at the door.

"Is he gone?" she asked quietly, in case he was still there and could hear her.

"Yeah, sweetie, he's gone. Now that we're alone, spill."

"What do you mean?" Vanessa finally turned her attention to her house guest for the evening.

"What's going on? Zac told me that you've been moody lately. Why?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes and sighed. She thought for a moment trying to figure out how much she should tell, finally deciding that telling all of it would probably be best.

"I'm just so frustrated at him, Mo! He keeps telling me that he has 'a plan' of when and how he's going to propose, but will not even let me in on any part of it." She paused to take a breath and failed to notice how Monique's eye grew in surprise.

_I had no idea it was this extreme!_ the dark skinned actress thought to herself. She quickly brought herself back from her own thoughts when she heard Vanessa continue with what she was saying.

"He has had many chances to do so since New Year's, and hasn't taken any of them! I seriously thought that Valentine's Day would be it. Instead, I get two plane tickets to Utah. _Utah,_ Monique! How lame is Utah?"

"What's in Utah?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. Zac had given her the website and she looked it up herself. She was jealous that Vanessa would be getting engaged in a place as breath taking as this resort.

"That's just it, I don't know! All he told me was 'I know this little place and have connections…'. I don't think he realizes that…"

Monique tuned out Vanessa but made sure to keep her eyes focused on her so she wouldn't become suspicious. _Sweetheart, I don't think __**you **__realize! Zac, why is that all you told her? Damn it! For someone as smart as you, you'd think you'd realize what's going on! It sounds to me like he's about to loose her and he's not even aware of it._

When she noticed Vanessa stop talking, Monique spoke up.

"Sweetie, I'm sure that the reason he hasn't told you anything about the proposal is because he wants to make sure it's perfect and doesn't want to risk anything going wrong," she told her, praying that something was sneaking into that thick skull of Vanessa's.

"But Mo, he keeps asking if I trust him, but what if _he_ doesn't?"

"Doesn't what, hon?"

"No, never mind. It was stupid. So, if you're here for the night, do you want one of the guest rooms all to yourself, or do you want to sleep in here?" she asked, changing the subject. The two girls kept talking about the details of their girls' night and never once brought up the subject of the proposal again for the rest of the evening, while Monique looked after her friend throughout the night, making sure she ate what she could, had her warm towels whenever she needed them, and her two pain pills every four hours.

* * *

On Saturday, the day after Vanessa's procedure, Ashley showed up to pay her friend a visit. She did, however, have ulterior motives. She'd talked to Zac in detail the previous night and the two dissected the situation to the best of their ability, which was not easy since neither of them knew the full story. She quickly realized that the situation between her two best friends was getting much worse than she originally thought. She planned to talk to Vanessa and get to the bottom of what ever was bothering her, but she also had a question for the couple. When she got to Vanessa's house, she ran into Zac in the driveway.

"You, go inside and stay in the den. I'll go talk to her and be down soon," she ordered. Zac just looked at her and saw the look of determination in her eyes before nodding his head. He unlocked the door using his key and let her in, watching in disbelief as she stormed up the stairs. The next sound he heard before sitting down on the couch was the bedroom door closing.

After what seemed like an hour, Zac heard the door open. He turned his focus from the TV he was watching to hallway where it opened up above the den and saw Monique open the hallway closet and pull out Vanessa's suitcase. She looked over the railing at him, gave a small reassuring smile, and went back into the bedroom. After another half hour, the three girls descended the stairs, Ashley carrying Vanessa's suitcase and Monique carrying her overnight bag. After the two girls set the bags near the door and came back into the den, Ashley made an announcement. Zac was sitting on the couch watching the three girls, wondering what they had been doing for the past hour and a half, and Vanessa was standing by the armchair with her eyes anywhere but at Zac.

"Okay, you two. I've come to a decision. In planning my wedding music, I made a decision. I want you two," she said, pointing to Zac and Vanessa "to sing at the reception."

"Aw! That's so sweet!" Monique exclaimed.

"I want you to do either a reading or a recitation. I haven't decided which yet," she told Monique.

"Really? What?"

"I think Shakespeare's _Sonnet 116_."

"We'll do it." The two girls stopped talking when they heard Zac's voice and all three heads turned to look at him.

"What?" Vanessa asked, almost angrily. "When did you start making decisions for me?"

"Ashley, Monique, would you excuse us for a moment?" Zac asked as he stood from his place on the couch, placing his hand on Vanessa's arm and leading her towards the kitchen.

"I can walk by myself," she said bitterly, shaking his hand off her arm and walking the rest of the way to the kitchen. Once they were in the other room, she walked to the cabinet and took out a glass, fixing herself a glass of water, trying to keep her focus on anything other than Zac. Zac worked his jaw as he gathered his thoughts before speaking.

"Alright, Van, what's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, taking a sip of her water.

"I get that for some reason, you've got an issue with me, but why are you being rude to Ashley?"

"I'm not being rude to Ashley," she argued back.

"Van, our best friend just asked us to sing at her wedding-"

"Yeah, and you agreed without talking to me about it first!" she exclaimed loudly.

"Would you keep your voice down, please?" he asked politely. "Mo and Ash already think there's something going on between us." He ran his hand over his face in frustration and then placed both hands on the island in front of him. "The reason I agreed is because she's our best friend. You and I can work out whatever we have going on later, but Ashley is our best friend. How can you deny her something like singing at her wedding?" He stopped talking, watching her face, as he saw her contemplating his words, letting them sink in.

She set her glass down next to the sink and crossed the room to stand across from him, meeting his stance with her own hands on the island, looking him in the eyes. "I know you think that I've got some kind of issue with you right now, and you're right when you say we can talk about it later. But you're also right when you say that we do need to do what ever it takes to make Ashley's wedding perfect and if us singing together is what she wants, then us singing together is what she'll get."

He slowly held his arms out, not sure if she'll let him hug her or not, but willing to give it a shot. She stood looking at him for a moment, chewing on her lip before walking around the island and into his arms, wrapping her own around his waist. The two of them stood that way for a minute, before he finally broke the hug.

"We'd better go tell Ashley," he said.

"Fine. Come on." She led the way back into the den and walked up to Ashley, holding her arms out and Ashley accepted the hug.

"We'll do it," she said, echoing Zac's words from earlier.

"I knew you would. I'm still debating on a song. I've got about three or four running around in my mind. I'll let you know as soon as I've decided."

"That's fine, take your time," Vanessa told her.

"Now that that's done, Monique and I need to go. We were doing lunch today anyway, so…" Ashley lied to the couple. In truth, while the two of them were in the kitchen, she and Monique had decided that something was indeed going on between the two of them and they had better make up some excuse to leave so they could at least attempt to work everything out.

"We'll talk to you before you leave," Monique told said, leaning in for her own hug from Vanessa, followed by Zac. After the two girls left, Vanessa made her way back upstairs and into the bedroom, once again closing the door behind her.

Zac stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at her retreating figure. He let out a frustrated groan as only one thought ran through his mind.

_She thinks we're talking later. Well, Van, later just came sooner than you wanted. _He slowly climbed the stairs, determined to get to the bottom of what was going on through his girlfriend's mind.

* * *

When he approached the closed bedroom door, he didn't even bother to knock. He'd been here enough times and walked in on her changing enough times- which he never minded- to not care anymore about knocking. Without a second thought to what he was about to do, he pushed the door open with such force that it banged against the wall behind it, startling Shadow and causing her to jump off the bed and scurry out the door and into the hallway. She'd witnessed enough of their arguments over the years and knew that the safest place to be when the make up started- and it always started- was far away from the bedroom. Vanessa moved from where she was standing near the window and walked to the wall to inspect the half inch mark that the door knob left behind from its impact.

"Nice, Babe. Leave a hole in my wall. Thank you," she exaggerated as she turned her back to him and walked toward the dresser, pulling off the shirt that she currently wore and pulled out another.

"Van, I've asked you several times in the past three weeks and several times you give me some bullshit answer and I'm sick of it. I'm going to ask again, and I want something that sounds believable this time. What in the _hell_ is your problem?"

She turned to look at him with fire in her eyes as she pulled the new shirt over her head. "My problem? _My_ problem? I'm the one who's _not_ afraid of a commitment in this relationship and you're asking me what _my_ problem is?" She could feel her voice getting louder with each word and she worked hard to control it. She didn't want to yell- not yet, at least. She still had a lot she wanted to say to him.

"What are you talking about, afraid of a commitment? Do you really think that about me?"

"Well, Zac, let's look at the facts here. You make a comment during an interview about waiting until your forty to be married. You bring up the topic of getting married someday in the 'near future' within the second week that we were in Vancouver and then never mentioning it again. You give me a ring, making me think that it's an engagement ring and giving me some sort of hope, only to have that hope yanked away from me within seconds. Then you tell me about some 'elaborate plan' that you've got and tell me _nothing _about this plan. Finally, you let I can't even count how many chances pass you by and give me some lame ass excuse about 'the plan' every time. So, yeah, I'd say you're afraid."

"Let me tell you what I'm afraid of, Vanessa. I'm afraid of this stupid fight and where it could possibly lead. I'm afraid of the thought of potentially loosing you, but I'm so angry and frustrated at you right now, that I don't know what to think about it anymore! I'm afraid that you're pulling away from this relationship and the four years of hard work that we've put into it- and let me tell you, Babe, they've been hard dealing with your mood swings all the time! I'm afraid that- You know what, no. I'm not going to finish that statement. You think that I'm afraid of commitment, Vanessa? Fine. You can think that all you want. But when you're done, make sure you tell yourself what a load of bullshit that is!" As Zac went on through his tirade, his voice was the one that got louder first, and by the time he was done, he was full out yelling.

Vanessa raised her voice as well, but not as loud as she wanted- she always liked to meet him decibel for decibel to make the playing field more even- as her mouth was still hurting. An up side of being small- you can be loud without really trying. And Vanessa planned on using this to her benefit.

"Well, then Zachary, if you're not afraid, what the hell are you waiting for?"

"Vanessa," he started, his voice softening a bit, "do you tru-"

"Don't you _dare_ ask me if I trust you!" she spat at him. "God, Zac, I'm so sick of that question! Every time the topic is brought up, you ask if I trust you and I'm sick of it! I'm beginning to wonder if you trust me!"

"What? Vanessa, what kind of bogus question is that?" The two angry lovers stood facing each other, as if in a face off to see who would crack first. Vanessa felt her tears well up in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She took a deep breath to steady her voice and brought it down in volume a few notches before her next statement.

"I think it's very legitimate, Zac. Just answer it. Do you trust me?"

"Vanessa, of course I trust you! I wouldn't be here fighting for us if I didn't!" He, too, felt his tears appear, but refused to let them fall as he had a macho man front to put on. He would only let them fall once this was all over and they had said their peace to each other.

"Then why are you not telling me anything?" she asked, her voice rising once more.

"I did tell you something! I gave you a clue!"

"When? When did you give me a clue about anything?" she demanded.

"You know what, never mind. I'm not getting into that. That's not the point here. The point is that my girlfriend is too selfish and too busy thinking about herself to enjoy the-". He stopped talking when he felt the one thing he'd never felt in all the fights the two of them have had over the years.

His head fell towards his right shoulder as he brought his right hand up to rub his stinging left cheek, while working his jaw, trying to ease the pain. He dared to look at Vanessa and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks and instantly regretted what he said to her in that last sentence.

Vanessa's hand immediately flew to cover her mouth which had dropped open in shock. He had made her so angry and so frustrated with his words that she didn't think, she just acted. She had never imagined doing this to anyone at any point in her life, yet he had managed to push her just far enough. She cast her eyes downward and turned her back to him once more and when she finally opened her mouth to speak, her voice was horse and her words came out as a whisper.

"I think you should go. We don't need to be around each other right now."

"Vanessa-" he began, not wanting to leave, but wanting to stay instead. Stay and fight for his future. But deep down, he knew she was probably right. Besides, he needed to get something on his face before the paparazzi spotted it and then, there'd be no telling what the tabloids would say.

"Zac, just go."

"No, Baby, please. We can-" He started to take a step toward her, but her next words caused him to freeze in his tracks.

"No, Zac. Not right now. You need to leave." _Stay strong, Vanessa. You can wallow later. _

Without another word, Zac turned and walked out the bedroom and down the stairs. He paused when he caught sight of his image in the massive mirror that Vanessa had hung on the wall opposite the base of the stairs. He noticed the small handprint beginning to show itself and cringed as he brought his hand up to stroke the red spot once again.

_Man, those Seals really taught her how to put her strength into it._

With a sigh, Zac picked up his car keys, opened the door to the garage, climbed into his car, and drove away from his beloved's house. He gave a glance at the house as it appeared in his rearview mirror. _This can't be the end. We're just angry right now, _he thought, trying to convince himself.

After Zac left her standing in the center of her bedroom, Vanessa stood there in shock.

_What just happened? Oh God, what did I do? I can't lose him. _It wasn't until she heard the garage door open, and then close again a minute later, and heard as his car pulled out of her driveway that Vanessa finally let herself fall to the floor as the tears overtook her. Shadow slowly crept back into her human's bedroom and watched as the sobs wracked Vanessa's body. The dog simply climbed into Vanessa's lap and stayed there while her owner cried until the sun want down and Vanessa merely passed out from exhaustion.


	6. Intervention

_WOW! Didn't see that one coming, did you? I'm just full of surprises like that! _

_What I own: just the storyline. Nothing else._

_**Chapter 6**_

When Vanessa finally woke up, the first thing she noticed was the unbearable pain in her body. As she lifted her head to sneak a peak at her clock, the next thing she noticed was that she was on the floor.

_Why am I down here?_ she wondered. She sat up and ignored how her back and shoulders cracked as she repositioned herself to lean against the side of her bed. And then it all came back to haunt her. All of the events of the evening prior. All of the details of her fight with Zac. All of the pain that they caused each other with their words and- in his case- her actions. She pulled her knees up to her chest and grasped her hands in front of them as the tears started once again.

_I wonder if he's- No! Stop it, Vanessa! He called you selfish and self centered and shut you out! You can't worry about him and how he's doing this morning, _she chastised herself.

_But no matter how much we hurt each other, we still love each other, right?_ she continued to wonder. The thought that last night could possibly be the end for the two of them terrified her to no end. _How are we going to fix this? _

She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone ringing on the bedside table above her. Wiping her eyes, she reached up to get it, looking at the caller id as she sat back down on the floor.

"Hey, Ash," she said, trying to sound as normal as she could with a voice that was horse from crying herself to sleep.

"Sweetie, you sound rough. What's wrong?"

"I can't-" Vanessa started. "Zac and I-" She tried again, only to find that she couldn't continue as a result of the tears that were a constant at this point in time. Instead, she reduced herself to simply sniffling in Ashley's ear.

"I'm on my way over," Ashley said before hanging up, fearing the worst.

When Vanessa hung up the phone, she stood up and climbed in the bed. Struggling to get comfortable, she quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. She wasn't naïve to the fact that the reason she couldn't get comfortable was because Zac wasn't there with her, wrapping her tightly in his strong, warm arms. She had spent almost every night with him for the past two years after she moved out of her parents' house and last night was one of the rare nights they were separated, other than when one of them was traveling. The thought that frightened her a moment ago made itself known in her mind once again. Had the two of them crossed the line too far, past the point of no return? And if not, how long would it take before one of them swallowed their pride and approached the other first?

* * *

As she got in her Mercedes, Ashley called Monique. "I'm going over to Nessa's. I have a feeling something big happened last night," she told her as soon as her friend answered.

"Is she okay?" Monique asked curiously.

"I don't think so. From what I heard in her voice when I called, we may need to pay a visit to Zac later on, too."

"I'll meet you there," Monique said, hanging up her phone, grabbing her keys and rushing out the door to climb in her own car.

When Ashley and Monique arrived, they walked up to the door and knocked. After a moment of silence on the other side of the door, Monique reached up and rang the bell while Ashley walked off the porch and around to the garage. She reached up to the key box that Zac had installed after Vanessa first moved in, punched in the code to open the box, and grabbed the set of spare keys that were kept inside. She walked back to the porch and unlocked the door, walking in behind Monique. The two girls looked around the foyer as if searching for some clue as to what may have happened the evening before. Upon hearing a small noise on the stairs, they turned in time to see Shadow coming down toward them. Ashley leaned down to pick up the pup while Monique set off to find the dog food. After letting Shadow out in the backyard and making sure she had fresh food and water, Monique and Ashley again looked at each other.

"I guess it would be safe to say that she's upstairs," Ashley pointed out.

"After you," Monique said, holding out her hand to let Ashley pass. As the two got further up the stairs and closer to their hurting friend's bedroom, they heard the sounds of tears and sniffles getting clearer. As they opened the door and let themselves in, they were greeted by the sight of Vanessa laying in bed- facing the door, so they got a good look at her tear-stained face- and holding a picture of her and Zac from one of their many stops on their _High School Musical 3 _promo tour. As the two of them stood at the foot of the bed, they tried hard to imagine what could have gone wrong.

"Nessa?" Ashley called out timidly. This was a sight they were not used to seeing. It couldn't have been a fight, for Zac and Vanessa never fought. They had disagreements and discussions, but always seemed to work everything out. When Ashley didn't get an answer, Monique decided to give it a try.

"Vanessa, hon? Are you okay?" she asked. Silence. The two friends looked at each other with concern on each other's faces.

"We fed Shadow and let her out for you," Ashley tried again. More silence. The sound of a ringing phone broke the silence. Ashley spotted the phone on the floor and picked it up, looking at the caller id. "Hey, Nessa, is Starla. Do you want to talk to Zac's mom?" She hoped that if neither she nor Monique could get her to talk, then maybe her soon-to-be mother-in-law could. Surprising to them, the mention of Zac's name only resulted in a violent shake of her head and the tears to speed up.

"Um, okay," Ashley said putting the phone down on the bedside table. She and Monique shared a questioning look, not sure what to do next. Monique pointed to the door and mouthed _"Downstairs"_. Ashley nodded her head in agreement and they left the bedroom, descended the stairs, and went into the kitchen. Monique started looking for some eggs for Vanessa- she was officially off her liquid diet and could now eat soft foods- while Ashley started the coffee.

"Okay, do you have the Efron's number?" Monique asked Ashley. After receiving a nod in response, she continued. "Why don't you give Starla a call and see if she knows anything?"

Ashley walked into the den and picked up her purse, searching for her phone. When she found it, she looked through her phone book until she found the Efron's home number and hit send. After having talked to Starla and still not having any answers, Ashley joined Monique in the kitchen.

"So Starla doesn't know anything?" Monique asked after Ashley finished telling her about the phone conversation.

"No, apparently she called Zac first and he's didn't answer either."

"This is really odd. It's not like the two of them to… to… whatever it is they're doing," Monique said, waving her hand towards the stairs.

"Mo, I say let's take Nessa her food and coffee and let her know that we'll be back later. I think we need to go see Zac."

"That sounds like a good idea. Let me take the tray up and you get Shadow back in and settled." The two girls went in their separate directions, Ashley to let in the dog and Monique to talk to Vanessa.

When Monique walked back into the bedroom, she noticed that Vanessa's position had changed so that she was sitting up, leaning against the headboard, and the tears had stopped for now.

"Nessa, sweetie, I've brought you some eggs and coffee. You need to try and eat." When she didn't get a response,- which didn't surprise her- she kept talking. "Honey, we don't know what happened, but we just wanted to let you know that Ashley and I are here for you. We're going to go ahead and go. It's apparent you want to be left alone, so if you need anything, just call." Monique stood from her spot on the bed and leaned over to give her a kiss on her forehead. "We love you, sweetie. We'll check back in on you later, okay?" she announced as she walked back out the bedroom and down the stairs where Ashley was waiting on her.

"I tried calling Zac while you were up there."

"And?"

"No answer."

"Let's go," Monique said, walking to the door. The girls let themselves out, locked the door behind them, and Monique went to her car while Ashley put the keys back in the lock box. Ashley climbed in the passenger seat and the two girls rode off to take care of the other half of the relationship that they were hoping to save.

* * *

The first thing Zac noticed when he woke up that morning was the massive headache he had. It wasn't often that he drowned his sorrows in beer- it was usually Vanessa who made him feel better- but the first thing he did the night before when he got home was grab the case of beer out of his refrigerator and go to sit on the couch in the den. He turned on the television to try and get his thoughts away from the past thirty minutes, but when a Neutrogena commercial came on the screen featuring his- girlfriend? Yes, girlfriend. He wasn't giving up that easily.- that idea failed miserably. He turned off the TV set and sat in the quickly appearing darkness, drinking his beer. When the first one was gone, he wasted no time opening the second and before too long, he had six empty bottles surrounding him and he felt his eyes drooping closed. He laid his head against the back cushion of the couch and the next thing he knew, he was waking up to the sunlight streaming in through the blinds and curtains that Vanessa had managed to talk him into. When he opened his eyes, he quickly closed them hard again and brought his hand up to cover his eyes wincing at the pain throbbing through his head.

He managed to stand up and make his way into the kitchen where he grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and reached in the cabinet for the bottle of Advil. As he was shaking two of the pills out into his open palm, he heard his phone began to ring in the other room. He managed to get the orange pills down his throat, and went into the other room, searching for his phone. When he located it, he noticed the caller id that said "Mom".

_I can't talk to her now! She'll know before I even say "hello" that something's wrong. _

No sooner was the thought fully out of his mind, the phone stopped. He heard the tone_, _signifying a voicemail, and sighed. _I'll call her later. _

He sat back down on the couch, and for the first time that morning, the pain in his left cheek made its ugly presence known and his thoughts returned to the night before.

He lost track of how long he sat there, thinking back over the past almost three months, racking his brain to try and figure exactly when things started going wrong. The only thing that brought him back from his thoughts was the sound of his phone ringing once again. Hoping it was Vanessa, he lunged for the phone, knocking over an empty bottle in the process, and picked it up, only to put it back down on the coffee table in front of him when he saw "Tizzy" on the caller id this time.

_I don't really want to talk to anyone right now, except Van, _he thought, as he rubbed his hand over his cheek once again, and once again, wincing at the pain. _Actually, right now, I'm not sure how much I want to talk to her, either._ His heart broke at the thought.

The longer he sat there, the more he ached from not being able to take her in his arms and tell her that more than anything else in the world, he was sorry. Sorry for his words to her and sorry for his _lack_ of words to her. He was starting to think that maybe he shouldn't have made those reservations for the resort in Utah, maybe he shouldn't have told her that he planned to propose to her at all, maybe- just maybe. Maybe if he'd told her of his plan to begin with… He was coming up empty in his attempts to pinpoint the beginning of it all.

_When exactly did I push her over the edge? Where did it all go wrong? And why did she not talk to me about it before it got to this point?_

This time, the doorbell brought him back to the present time. Not sure if he wanted any company right now or not, he stayed right where he was. When the doorbell rang a second time, he called out a response, full of choice words that he seldom used. The third time the persistent guest rang the bell, he finally let out a groan and stood from the couch, made his way to the door, and looked out one of the side windows. When he saw Ashley and Monique standing on his front porch, he sighed in frustration and turned the lock on the door, opening it to reveal himself to the girls.

"Usually when someone doesn't answer their phone, it means they don't want to talk and to stay the hell away," he snapped. Ashley ignored his greeting and pushed her way in, followed by Monique. Zac just rolled his eyes and shut the door. "What do you want?"

"To know what the hell's going on," Ashley stated as she and Monique walked into the den, followed by a reluctant Zac. The girls took a look around and noticed what kind of shape it was in as well as what kind of shape he was in. His hair was disheveled, his stubble showing through, his usual crystal blue eyes were a stone gray and were accompanied by the bags underneath, and they couldn't help but take note of the fact that he was in the same clothes he had on the day before. "We went to Nessa's-"

"You saw Van?" he asked as his ears perked up at the mention of her name, suddenly interested in what they had to say. "How is she?" The two female friends looked at each other, wondering how much they should say.

"Well, let me put it this way. Judging from what we see here," Monique started as she looked around, taking in all of the empty beer bottles scattered on the coffee table, "yall are doing about the same. Nice cheek, by the way. Pink's a good color on you."

"Yeah, it was a lot of fun getting it," he said sarcastically, picking up one of the empty beer bottles and sitting down on his couch, gesturing to the other two to sit.

"What happened, Zac?" Monique asked him.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said, as he began to play with the label on the beer bottle in his hands.

"Well, too bad, because we do and we know how to make you talk," Ashley supplied.

Zac made a show of working the bottle around in his hands, contemplating what he should share. He finally decided to share all he knew.

"I really don't know what happened," he started. "It all sort of happened so fast, but yet not really. I've been going back in time in my mind trying to figure out exactly what started it all, but I'm coming up empty." He paused and took a few breaths, holding the bottle up in front of his face, as if looking for some of the golden liquid still inside, or maybe all the answers he was looking for. Deciding that the bottle held neither, he brought it back down into his lap and let out a sigh. He had a few questions and had a feeling that the two who sat in front of him may have the answers he needed. He looked them both in the eye and verbalized one of the questions he had. "How is she? And don't give me some sugar coated answer. I really want to know. I do still love her, regardless, and just want to know that she's okay."

Monique is the one who spoke up to answer that one. "She's hurting. She was in bed when we got there, and was still in bed when we left. She never said anything."

"You mean she didn't say anything regarding us?" he tried to clarify.

"No, I mean, she didn't say _any_thing. She didn't even acknowledge us." Monique began to tell Zac the whole story of what happened a short while ago when they were over at Vanessa's house. When she was finished, the three just sat in silence, Zac once again fascinated with the beer bottle in his hand, and Ashley and Monique just watching him.

Zac was the first to speak. "She slapped me. I don't guess I have to tell you, you can see that for yourselves. I guess, in the things that were said, I just pushed her too far. Our arguments have never gotten to that point before."

Ashley took a deep breath before speaking. "Zac, we don't know what happened. We don't know what started it yesterday. We don't even know what Nessa's had going on in her brain. She hasn't talked to us much lately, so we don't know. We do know that the two of you will get through this."

"What if we don't, Ash? I don't even know where everything started to go wrong, so how can we fix this? What if things have gotten to the point of no turning back?" he asked, finally looking up at his visitors. "I can't live without her," he whispered as the tears that he didn't know were building finally broke loose.

Monique stood and moved to sit next to him on the couch, wrapping her arms around him and just letting him cry, an action which was almost foreign to her, as Zac never cried where other people could see. Always in private, or with Vanessa. This was their first glimpse at his vulnerability; a side of him that neither of them have ever seen before.

Just then, Ashley got an idea. She stood up, taking her purse with her into the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her phone book. When she found the number she was looking for, she hit send waiting on the other person to answer.

"Hello?" they finally said.

"Hey, it's Ashley."

"Hey, Ash! What's going on? How are the wedding plans going?"

"They're good. Everything's going good. I'm actually calling as a favor for someone we're both close to." She continued the conversation with the person on the other end, and when it was over, she quickly used the restroom to keep up the pretense that that was why she really went in there. When she came out of the bathroom, she noticed that Zac was gone and Monique was straightening up the living room. She helped by picking up the couple of bottles that were right next to her.

"Where's Zac?" she asked.

"I finally convinced him to get in the shower and at least get dressed. He asked if we'd go back to Nessa's and check on her once more. Ashley, I think that regardless of what happened, the two of them still _want_ to be together, they just don't know how right now."

"I picked up on that, too. That's why I called in the big guns."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Zac is going to have lunch with an old friend one day in the very near future. One who I think will be able to put a new perspective on things for him. Now, our job is to try and get Nesquick to talk and calm down before she leaves tomorrow."

* * *

When the two got back to Vanessa's, they wasted no time in letting themselves in the same way as before. They immediately went straight upstairs and found Vanessa still in the bed. The only difference was that this time, the picture had been placed on the bedside table and the TV was on. They noticed a bit of irony in the fact that she was watching _High School Musical 2_ and it was at the point of Troy and Gabriella's breakup by the pool at Lava Springs, with _Gotta Go My Own Way_ playing on the screen. Ashley and Monique looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Monique was the first to spring into action and took the remote and turned off the tv and took the movie out of the DVD player and put it back in its case.

"First rule, this," she pointed the remote to the tv, "is not allowed. No wallowing. Not while we're here, at least. Wait until we leave and then you can eat all pints of Ben and Jerry's and tubes of raw cookie dough that you want too."

Vanessa just looked at her in disbelief.

"Can I have my remote back?" she asked, her voice harsh from not having used it in almost 18 hours.

"Get out of bed first," Ashley spoke up.

Vanessa made a point of throwing the covers back and standing up, throwing her hands up in the air in frustration. "There, I'm up. Happy?"

"Thrilled," Ashley shot back.

"Second rule," Monique continued "is the attitude has to stop. We're here because we love you, not for you to verbally attack."

"You're right, sorry," Vanessa said, dropping her eyes to the ground. "Are there more rules, or are those the only two?"

"There's one more. We'll talk downstairs," Monique said as she turned to leave the room and move downstairs. Vanessa just looked at Ashley, who just looked back at her in return. Vanessa sighed and made her way down the stairs as well. When the three girls were settled in the den, Monique started.

"We went to Zac's-"

"You saw Zac? How is he?" Vanessa interrupted, with a slight hint of hope in her voice.

"Well, how are you?"

"Point taken," she said, lowering her eyes to her lap. "How's his…" she trailed off, ashamed, not able to ask the question that she wanted to know.

"His cheek?" Ashley supplied. When Vanessa looked up and nodded, she continued. "He still has a slight mark. I'm surprised it didn't swell." When Vanessa looked downward once again at the pillow she was holding in her lap, she continued. "You really did a number on him. Good job!" she joked, hoping it would get Vanessa to open up a little bit. It worked.

"I don't know what happened," she began. "He came in the bedroom yelling and saying stuff and I just yelled back. I couldn't tell you what all was said, I don't remember all of it. Finally it came out that I didn't think he trusted me because he's not been telling me anything and he's been keeping me in the dark about everything. Then he called me selfish and said that I was only concerned about myself and I just snapped. Before I knew it-" she stopped, not able to continue. "I don't know, I just-". The tears over took her once more.

Ashley and Monique scooted closer to her. Ashley took Vanessa's hand in her own while Monique gently rubbed her back. Vanessa continued.

"What if it was too much? What if we can't move past all this? What if this- whatever it is- is not-"

"Honey, anything with yall can be fixed! It always has been, hasn't it?" Monique asked.

"Yeah, but Mo, this time, things were said and… and done… and-"

"Stop making excuses. Vanessa, things are always going to be said and done. That doesn't stop love," Monique stopped talking, hoping something she said would sneak in. Vanessa angrily wiped at her tears.

"I just miss him so much," Vanessa whispered. The other two girls put their arms around her and just let her cry. They knew that somehow their two friends would be okay. It was up to them to find their way back to each other, but it was up to Ashley and Monique to make sure they knew the right direction, and that was just what they planned to do.


	7. Lunch with Friends

_As I mentioned before, I realize that Beastly is not coming out until the end of July and this chapter is March. However, for the sake of the story, it's coming out in March. Deal with it. I'm overwhelmed by the reviews. I can't believe that I've started a discussion on the story, the characters, their motives, etc. It's like my own little book club! Thank yall so much for taking to this story the way that you have. I'm glad you like it! Once again, I don't own anything except the plot._

_**Chapter 7**_

It had been a week since Vanessa left and a little over a week since The Fight. Ten days since Zac and Vanessa exchanged hurtful words. Nine days since they both wallowed in private and got a visit from their two best female friends. Vanessa left that Monday for her promotional tour for _Beastly_ and the DVD release of _Bandslam_. At first she wasn't too happy that the two events were happening back to back with each other, as that meant double the promos for her and double the work load. But now she saw it as a way to keep her mind occupied. It gave her a reason to not think about Zac every second of the day.

Zac, however, was not that lucky. He still had about five months before the next promotional tour of his own, so therefore, he didn't have anything to keep him busy. He spent his days haunted by the memory of The Fight and was being visited each day by a different someone that he didn't want to talk to. First was Ashley, then Monique, then Corbin, then Stella called- he didn't feel like talking to her; she knew her older sister's boyfriend so well that she'd instantly know something wasn't quite right-, then Ashley again.

By the time the following Tuesday came around, just as Zac was contemplating calling Vanessa for the five hundred thousand millionth time since she left- even if it was to just hear her voice on her voicemail- he got a call. A call that was unexpected at this point in time. As he held his phone in the palm of his hand, turning it over and over trying to decide if he should call her or not, he felt it buzzing. He answered it before looking at the caller id, hoping beyond hope that maybe, just maybe, she was feeling the same way and was calling to just hear his voice. Instead, the voice that met him on the other end took him by surprise.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Zac," the voice greeted, "it's Bart."

"Bart?" he asked, shocked.

"Yeah, man! How are you?"

"I'm great!"

"Bull," Bart said. "I can hear it in your voice. You're dealing with something and you're trying to hide it."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you, remember? You and I may not have known each other before your life changed five years ago, but I know you.

"I'm not hiding anything," Zac argued back.

"Don't lie to me," Bart warned.

"What are you talking about?" Zac questioned again.

"Call it father's intuition," Bart attempted to joke

Zac let out a slight chuckle at the ongoing joke the two shared. "I guess I can't argue with that one."

"Meet me for lunch tomorrow."

"As much as I'd love to, I can't. I've got a-"

"A completely empty schedule. I've got some people on the inside who know you're schedule. Therefore, I know for a fact that you're free. Meet me at Timmy Nolan's Tavern in Toluca Lake, tomorrow at 12:30. How does that sound?"

"Like an order," he snapped in response.

"Man, whatever it is that's eating you up must be huge. You're not usually this much of a joy to talk to. How's Vanessa dealing with it?" Bart said, feeling out the situation with the younger actor. He knew of The Fight from Ashley but didn't exactly know the specifics on how severe the situation was, and as a result, didn't know what he had facing him tomorrow.

"I don't know. She's been gone since last Monday. Promos and such."

"Yeah, I saw her on _Live with Regis and Kelly_ this morning. She looks good," he said, once again testing the waters.

"Yeah, hey listen, I've got to run. I'll see you tomorrow," Zac said, hanging up before Bart could respond.

_Wow,_ Bart thought to himself. _Ashley wasn't joking. He's really messed up over this. It's time for Daddy Jack to come out._

* * *

The next day, Zac found himself getting ready for a lunch he didn't want to attend. Not that the company would be a bad thing. He always enjoyed hanging out with Bart. The two of them built a strong relationship in the years that they worked together on the three movies. Almost like real father and son, not just the parts they portrayed.

It was the going out part, however, that Zac was not looking forward to. He knew the paparazzi would be out. He knew the rumors that had been going around about The Fight. How they heard about it, he'll never know, and he didn't care. Even Vanessa was fielding questions about it in her interviews.

Yes, he had watched her on her television appearances. Despite everything that happened between the two of them, he was still her biggest fan and would continue to be.

As he grabbed his keys and prepared to walk out the door, wearing his jeans and t-shirt, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror by the door. Noticing the bags under his eyes, he grabbed his sunglasses as a second thought. He started to walk out the door once more and, once more, did a double take in the mirror, this time noticing his unruly hair. It seems that he always has trouble with it when Vanessa wasn't there, so he grabbed his beanie, placing it on his head as he left his house, and walked to his car- braving the flashbulbs as he went- to begin the drive to the restaurant in Toluca Lake.

* * *

When Bart arrived at Timmy Nolan's Tavern, he was not at all surprised to see the paparazzi there. They were no doubt waiting on Zac; he was a hot ticket in Hollywood these days. He walked into the restaurant and straight to a corner table in the back. He sat facing the door so he could see Zac when he came in and he could try and help him just a little and get him past the paparazzi that would no doubt almost attack him as soon as he walked in. No sooner did he take his seat that he heard the commotion. He looked up toward the door and saw his on-screen son come in, looking none too pleased with all the ruckus he caused. Bart lifted his hand just a little, letting Zac know where he was. Zac quickly noticed and offered a nod in response, as he made his way to the table. Bart stood to greet the young actor with a manly hug, who returned the hug with a slap on the older man's back. The two exchanged pleasantries through ordering their drinks, and sat in silence for a few moments as they studied the menu. The waitress returned with their drinks and took their orders, and Bart wasted no time at all jumping into the reason for the lunch meeting.

"So…" Bart started.

"So?" Zac questioned. "Why are we here? What's up?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Zac just looked at him questioningly. Realizing that Zac didn't know what he was getting at, Bart continued. "What's going on? I've heard some rumors. How true are they?"

"That depends on what you've heard," he told him, taking a sip of his Heineken.

"Don't avoid the question, Zac. I think you know what I'm talking about. I saw Vanessa on _Regis and Kelly_ yesterday morning and _The View _today. She looked okay to someone who wouldn't know any better. But to those who really know her, her eyes said something very different. What's going on?"

Zac took another sip before setting his beer back on the table in front of him and sighed. He sat back in his seat and looked Bart in the eyes before answering.

"That's just it, man. I don't know what happened. Things were going okay, you know? Great even, except for the occasional snippy attitude from her, but I thought that was normal. The next thing I know… I don't know."

"Take me back. Tell me everything," Bart instructed, turning into the father that he'd played for several years to the young man in front of him.

"How far back do you want me to go?"

"When did things start getting weird with you two? Take me there."

Zac thought for a minute, playing with the napkin sitting on the table in front of him, before responding. "Her birthday." He then proceeded to tell Bart the whole story. Her birthday and the discussion the two of them had on that day. He moved on to New Year's Eve and Ashley's engagement and how he dealt with Vanessa's emotions in the aftermath. After that, Valentine's Day, which, in his mind, was almost perfect. Next he touched on the recent events, the pain she felt and the wisdom teeth extraction, and the attitude he felt she was exhibiting. Before he knew it, he was telling Bart all about the fight, the things they said to each other and the slap she gave him. While he was talking, Bart just sat listening, not sure where to begin.

"So where does that leave you two now?" he asked.

"I guess that leaves me with needing to at least postpone our trip. What do I need to do regarding that?"

"Not a thing, because I don't think you will be needing to postpone. Not after what I have to say, anyway."

"What do you mean? I don't even know when I'm going to be talking to her again, much less traveling anywhere with her," Zac pointed out .

"What I mean is that you will be wanting to talk to her by the time I'm done. Are you ready to listen?"

"Okay, see, now you're starting to sound like my dad! I'm not sure how much I like that."

"Well, I'm trying to sound like your dad. I've got a few years on you, Zac. Both in life and in marriage. I like to think I know a few things and can possibly offer my expertise when needed on something like this."

"Fair enough," Zac said, waving his hand for Bart to continue. Bart took a deep breath and a sip of his own Killian's Red before continuing.

"Zac, I've seen you and Vanessa as you two were flirting during the first movie. The whole 'does she like me' stage was always the most stressful for me. I could tell it was for you, too. You two thought it was in secret and that no one noticed, but believe me, we all noticed. You admitted to me once that you liked the scene of the two of you in the gym playing with the basketball when you were supposed to be practicing and I walk in and bust you. Why did you like that one so much?"

The two men stopped talking for a minute when their food was delivered. They got everything fixed with the ketchup and other desired condiments and took a bite of their burgers.

"Come on, Bart, you already know that. What does that have to do with anything?" Zac asked as he swallowed.

"Just answer the question, Zac," Bart ordered.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "That was one of my favorite scenes with the two of us because of the closeness portrayed between Troy and Gabriella. I actually had a reason to touch her and not feel like I was being too forward at that time."

"I then got to watch as you two started dating, through the awkward stage and everything that followed. Meeting her dad was fun, wasn't it? What about the trip you two took to Hawaii for the first time? That trip was a turning point for you two, wasn't it?"

"What are you getting at?" Zac was starting to get slightly annoyed.

"I'm trying to make you understand that the good times outweigh the bad. That's the way it is when you're with someone you really love. When your lives are so closely intertwined like the two of you are, you're going to encounter bad times. It's how you handle the bad times that make all the difference. No matter how bad things get, the two of you can always come out on top and conquer them. You always have. Ponder that one for a minute," Bart instructed as he picked up his burger, taking another bite.

The two men sat in silence eating. Zac was using the silence to digest what Bart had just told him. He quickly realized how very right he was. No matter how bad things got within the past almost five years- no matter the rumors, no matter the picture scandals, no matter the arguments, no matter anything- it only made their relationship stronger. Did that mean that this, too, would soon pass? And if so, how?

"What are you thinking?" Bart asked, finally breaking the silence after several minutes.

"I was just reliving the past few years. Everything that's been thrown at us, we've worked through it. No matter what came our way only made us stronger, like you said. We always came out on top. Why, then, does this feel like it's tearing us apart?"

"Zac, tell me about the fight you two had. What kind of things were said?"

Zac put his burger down and wiped his mouth. He took another sip of his beer and took a deep breath before starting to relive that fateful, potentially life-changing for both of them, afternoon. He told Bart everything that was said, starting from the moment he stormed into her bedroom and ending with him leaving, with a red mark on his face.

"Wow," Bart said, disbelieving that the two young actors he, along with the rest of the _High School Musical_ cast, watched fall in love could actually fight the way Zac just described.

"Yeah, it was bad," Zac told him.

"Zac, do you realize what started her attitude, as you call it, towards you?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out. Where did things start to really go bad between us? I just don't get it!"

"You've been stringing her along since her birthday," Bart simply stated.

"What?" Zac stared at Bart, with his burger halfway to his mouth. He put it back on his plate slowly, confused with this new point. "What do you mean?"

"You told her you have a plan, right?" Bart watched Zac as he slowly nodded. "Have you told her anything about this plan?"

"I told her we're going to Utah in May," he pointed out.

"Yes, but have you told her why?" When Zac shook his head 'no', Bart continued. "So she just knows about a trip to Utah. Have you told her anything about the plan?" he asked for a second time.

Bart looked Zac in his eyes, making sure he fully understood his next statement.

"Son," he started slowly, "you've been stringing her along. She thinks you don't trust her because she knows you're going to propose, but not when, and you haven't told her anything about it. Therefore, every romantic moment you've come across since then, she's thinking 'Oh, my God, is this it? Finally!' and then you let her down by not proposing when she thinks you're going to. That just makes her doubt you and your trust in her. It sounds to me like she's put on a pretty big front to try and cover up her disappointment many times. Honestly, I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did before blowing up at you. Hell, I would have blown up at you, too, but much sooner." He finished his speech and watch as the realization his Zac squarely in the face.

"Oh, God, Bart. What have I done? I may have lost her forever."

"You haven't lost her forever. Just momentarily. When does she get back from her promotional tour?"

"End of the month, but I don't know exactly how to fix this," Zac admitted.

"All I can do is point out the fault. It's up to you to figure out how to fix it. Like leading a horse to water and all."

Zac pushed his plate a little bit further up on the table, just enough so he could put his elbows on the table. He clasped his fists together and rested his chin on them, letting out a sigh. Bart just gave him a look of concern. The same look that a father would give their son. _He's really grown up in the past few years. I'm really proud of him._

"Are you okay?"

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Zac asked quietly.

"Big time," Bart responded.

"How am I going to get her back? What should I do? I've got a lot to figure out. Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Bart asked, confused.

"For kicking my ass into motion. For making me understand what I did wrong. I never should have mentioned the plan at all. I led her on and… and I don't know. I screwed up and you helped me realize that, so thank you, _Dad_," Zac told him, channeling his inner Troy for a moment. Bart chuckled and returned the role play.

"Anytime, Troy. That's why I'm here. Now let's talk about you postponing this trip to my family resort."

"Yeah, let's talk about that. I may not be needing it after all," Zac began slowly. "I think I'm getting an idea."

"Really?" Bart asked, raising his eyebrows in question. "Tell me about it."

The two men continued their lunch, and Bart listened as Zac proceeded to share the idea that was forming in his mind as to how exactly he was going to finally talk to, and possibly win back, Vanessa, the love of his life.

* * *

_AN: *I've had some of you ask me in reviews and such about something that was said during the Valentine's Day dinner. Zac made a comment to Vanessa about "...whatever the court's decide..." and I've been asked what I mean by that. If you go to __.com__ and in the top right corner, there's a search box. Enter "Vanessa Hudgens" and it'll bring up all the details about the court case that's she been involved with lately. I may not be able to explain it properly and do it justice, so if you are curious about that, going to the E! Network website would probably be best. Thank you again!*_


	8. Contact

_I still don't own it._

_**Chapter 8**_

After his meeting with Bart Johnson- a man that he had just as close a relationship with off screen as he did on- Zac had a whole new outlook on the recent past in his relationship with Vanessa. He had a better understanding of what had gone wrong. He now knew why she had pulled away from him. He realized that he deserved the slap that she had given him; he had asked her time and time again if she trusted him, when in reality, the question she had asked him on that day was the real issue. Did _he _trust _her_? Why had he never let her in on anything having to do with what was supposed to be one of the most memorable moments of her life? He wasn't a girl by no means, but knew from all of his female friends that the moment when a girl gets engaged is extremely important to her. All he wanted was to make her moment the most enjoyable, the most romantic, and- more importantly- the most memorable moment she would ever encounter… other than the actual wedding itself, of course, and then the birth of their first child a few years later. And all he managed to do was finally push her over the edge.

Now that the voice of reason named Bart had spoken, Zac realized that he had to swallow his pride and be the first one to make contact. Which is why he now sat on his couch, in silence, playing with his phone and trying to gather his courage. He had been in the position before of having to be the one to make the first move, but this was different. All the times before, Vanessa had been just a few minutes away and he could simply show up and not leave until she talked to him. This time, however, she was a few thousand miles away, making his task extremely difficult.

Throughout the course of the rest of the lunch with Bart, it had been admitted that Ashley had been the one to make the call.

"_So Ashley called you?"_

"_Yeah. She was concerned about the two of you and knew you needed some sense knocked into you," Bart told him._

"_Well, why not knocking some sense into Van?" he asked._

"_Honestly? Because even though you both need it, she's not the one who needs it the most."_

"_Touché," Zac said with a sigh. "Well, I guess I owe her a thank you, huh?"_

He had, in fact, had that particular conversation later that day.

_He decided to take a detour on the way back to his house and pulled his car into the driveway of the house belonging to his blond friend. Getting out and making the short walk to the front door, he was surprised to realize how nervous he was. _

"_What's that about? Why am I nervous about this?" he wondered to himself, bringing his hand up to ring the bell. When Ashley answered the door, Zac surprised her by immediately pulling her to him in a smashing hug._

"_Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" _

"_Um, you're welcome?" Ashley asked, not sure where he was going with this._

"_Because of you, dear Tizz, I had a lunch with an interesting by stander today. He managed to knock some sense into my thick skull and now I know what went wrong on both sides. As a result of that," he said, backing away and giving a snap of his fingers and pointing at her, giving her a wink as he did so, "I also have an idea of what needs to be done to fix this. Bye! We'll talk later!" He turned and ran back to his car, climbed in, and drove off, with Ashley looking after him in disbelief._

"_Wow," was all she could say to the frenzy on her front porch that was Zac just then. "I don't think Nessa has any idea of what's coming to her."_

Which was why Zac was currently sitting on his couch, two days later. He had memorized her schedule- they had always made copies for each other whenever one of them was traveling- and knew that she was in London for the next couple of days. His perfect plan to jump on a plane and surprise her for the _Beastly _premiere while appearing on the red carpet with a single white lily and forcing her to talk to him- the cameras would be focused on them, no doubt, and she wouldn't want to give them anything to spread around, so she would go along with it- was suddenly sounding not so perfect. He had yet to come up with an alternative plan.

_She'll never answer if I call. _ No sooner did that thought leave his brain, he suddenly sat up straighter onto the edge of the couch, looking at his watch and quickly doing the math to calculate the time difference in his head. _Unless I plan it to where I call while she's getting ready and is too occupied to check the caller id._ A smile quickly formed on his face as he thought more about that thought. _No, that won't accomplish anything except getting her more upset at me. 'You should know better than to call me while I'm getting ready, Zac!' I can hear her rant now. Damn it, Efron!_ he chastised himself. His smile faded just as quickly as it had formed. After a few moments of thinking, he finally decided what he needed to do and this time, he stuck by the plan.

* * *

It was 5:30 in the early evening in London. Vanessa was getting ready for the premiere of her latest movie and was set to leave in a few minutes. She had found since she left two weeks ago that she was having a hard time focusing on what she was traveling to do. The appearances she had on _Live with Regis and Kelly _and _The View_, coupled with brief appearances on the morning shows for the three major networks, as well as _The David Letterman Show_, while she was in New York were some of the most difficult appearances she'd had to encounter. There were questions about her and Zac, which she was expecting, as there were always questions about their relationship. What she was not expecting, however, was how much of an act she had to put on for the cameras in order to let everyone believe that everything was fine.

"Zac? Oh, yeah, he's doing great. He couldn't join me this time as he already had other obligations, but we're doing great. Thank you for asking!". It was tiring, really, having to make up excuses. She was also careful to not wear the blue topaz ring that he had given her, to offset any rumors from being started.

She was done with the excuses. She was wondering how much longer she could go on with the excuses before she finally broke and let it all out. She was glad that she was in London for this part of the trip. It should be easier this time. All she had to do was walk the red carpet, answer a few questions, pose with her co-star Alex Pettyfer, watch the movie, and go back to her hotel room… alone. She hated going back to a foreign hotel room alone. That was one of the things she missed the most regarding this argument between her and Zac. Whenever she traveled, he always made it a point to try and make it to a few of her stops. London had always been one of their favorite cities and she hated that she was there this time without him.

_I could call him… _she thought, glancing at the phone sitting on the bedside table. _I do have a few min-_

"Vanessa, are you about ready?" The voice of her manager Evan, calling from the other room of the hotel suite, brought her back to the present.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready," she called back. She walked to the other side of the room and grabbed her phone and walked out into the sitting area, where she saw Evan waiting for her.

"You look great, as always."

"Thank you," she said.

"Would you do me one favor, please?" Evan asked.

"What's that?"

"Would you please smile? Just a little? And look like your enjoying yourself and are excited about tonight?"

She simply rolled her eyes, opened the door and held it open, letting him exit first. Evan knew something was going in with her personal life, but she hadn't shared any details and Evan wasn't one to pry.

"Now, a few things to remember for tonight…" She managed to tune Evan out, as he tells her the same 'few things' every time she has a premiere or an event of any sort that she's expected to attend- smile, stay enthusiastic, and have fun- and reached down to drop her phone inside her purse, not noticing the way it vibrated as she snapped the gold clutch closed.

* * *

Zac was not surprised when he heard her voice mail come on. His first emotion was joy at finally hearing her voice for the first time in two and a half weeks.

"_Hey, it's Vanessa. Sorry I missed your call. Leave me a message and I'll call you back as soon as I can!" _He couldn't help but smile as he felt the warmth from her angelic voice fill his ears.

His next emotion was panic and he shocked himself when he hung up before the beep. _What are you doing?! Why are you chickening out? Just man up and leave the stupid message!_ He took a deep breath as he hit speed dial 1 again. He sat there patiently as he waited for the voice mail once again, but was surprised as she answered this time.

* * *

Vanessa was reaching into her purse for her lip gloss, pretending to listen to Evan as he rambled on about something in the backseat of the limo they were riding in, when she noticed a missed call on her phone. Taking a closer look, she noticed that there wasn't a number showing. Shrugging in confusion, she sat it on the seat beside her as she expertly applied the pink color to her lips. After she dropped the tube of lip gloss back into her purse, she picked up her phone just as it vibrated in her palm once again. Still pretending to be listening to Evan, she answered before checking the caller id.

"Hello?" She waited patiently on the person on the other end to say something, but was met by silence.

"Hello?" she said again, a little impatiently. Again, silence.

"Hellooo? Is anyone there?" Still nothing. Finally giving up, she hung up and dropped the phone back in her purse. "Yeah, great talking to you, too", she mumbled.

* * *

Zac sat in disbelief, staring at the phone in his hand. He didn't plan on her answering! He was totally thrown off balance, and needed a few minutes to regroup, before getting up the courage to try her again. As soon as he picked up his phone to call for a third time, he put it back down, deciding to wait about an hour or so to make sure that she was inside the theatre and would more than likely not hear or feel her phone. If she did, she'd be too distracted to answer. He'd been to enough premieres with her to know how preoccupied she was at them. He decided to leave and get some fresh air, hoping to clear his head a bit, and grab something to eat before trying for the third time. He came back a little over an hour later and picked up his phone, this time wasting no time at all before hitting 1 on his speed dial. This time, when he heard her voice mail, he smiled to himself, until he heard the beep. He froze, not knowing how to begin.

_Say something_! he urged himself.

"Van, hey it's me. I, um, I know that I'm probably the, uh, the last person you want to hear from right now, but…" He paused, letting out a sigh while running his hand across his face. "I really don't know how else to say this, other than to come right out with it. Vanessa, I'm sorry. I've had it pointed out to me how stupid I've been and how much I've been pushing you away. I never meant to hurt you. Baby, I love you so much. Please call me. Please talk to me. I want to pick you up from the airport when you get back, if you'll let me. I hope you have a good night and uh, I, uh, I guess I'll talk to you later. I love you."

He hung up just as he felt the single tear fall down his cheek. He reached up to wipe it away as he offered up a prayer to whoever was up there listening.

_Please, just let her listen to the voice mail without deleting it. All I want is for her to hear it._

* * *

When Vanessa walked through the door of her room back at the hotel, the first thing she did was kick off her high heels. She sat down on the couch in the sitting area, turning on the TV and immediately flipping it to the E! Network, as she reached down to rub the balls of her feet. She had gotten spoiled whenever she and Zac go to appearances as he always rubbed her feet when they returned either home or to the hotel. Vanessa absentmindedly fumbled through her purse for her phone, seeing the blinking red light. She touched the screen, making the picture of her and Zac at the hockey game they went to for his birthday in Vancouver appear, and saw the envelope in the upper right corner. As she tapped in her pass code, she pulled the phone to her ear. She sat up straighter on the couch as she heard the voice she's wanted to hear so badly since she left Los Angeles.

"_Van, hey it's me. I, um, I know that I'm probably the, uh, the last person you want to hear from right now, but…" _Vanessa stopped breathing as she listened to the rest of the voice mail.

"_I really don't know how else to say this, other than to come right out with it. Vanessa, I'm sorry. I've had it pointed out to me how stupid I've been and how much I've been pushing you away. I never meant to hurt you. Baby, I love you so much. Please call me. Please talk to me. I want to pick you up from the airport when you get back, if you'll let me. I hope you have a good night and uh, I, uh, I guess I'll talk to you later. I love you."_

Vanessa furiously wiped at the tears that quickly fell down her cheeks, not realizing until that moment that she had started crying. She was so overwhelmed, so shocked, that he called her that her first thought was to call him back. Just as she positioned her finger to push the 1 for speed dial, her phone vibrated in her hand. She looked at it, noticing that it was Ashley. She answered the phone and the girl on the other end quickly noticed that she'd been crying.

"What happened, Nesquick?"

"He called."

"_What?!"_ Ashley asked, playing the shocked card. She already had an idea that he was going to do something, but she really didn't know that he would call her while she was gone.

"Yeah, he called during the movie tonight. My phone was on vibrate, so of course, I didn't hear it. He left a voice mail." Vanessa quickly told Ashley about what the voice mail said.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Ash. I miss him so much, but… I just don't know."

Ashley couldn't hide the smile that formed on her face at the one thought that kept running through her mind. _It's about time! I think they're close._

The two girls continued their conversation for a few more minutes. When they finally hung up, Vanessa went into the bedroom and took off the dress she had worn to the premiere, changing into the old Wildcat t-shirt that Zac had worn in the first _High School Musical_ and a pair of yoga pants. After she washed her face she took her phone in her hands once again and climbed into the bed. As she settled down under the covers, she dialed her voice mail once again, and listened to the message again, and again, and again, as she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

After Zac finally got up the courage to leave the message, he got restless. He didn't expect her to call him back, but he still wasn't giving up hope. He had the feeling way deep down that he may not talk to or see her until Ashley's wedding in three weeks, but his mom had taught him a long time ago to not give up.

"_Zachary, if you want something bad enough, you have to go after it." _

He had spent his whole life going after what he wanted academically and professionally. Personally, however, he managed to mess up and now it was time to fix it. He thought about calling her again, but then he reminded himself that Vanessa was one to shut down if she felt like she was being pushed. That was exactly what had caused this whole mess to begin with, and he wasn't about to push her further and make things worse than they already were. He finally managed to convince himself to just let things lie the way they were and let her take her time. He had made the first move, now it was her turn.

* * *

The next morning when Vanessa woke up, she got in the shower and quickly got dressed and packed her things for the flight back to Los Angeles, where she would finish out her commitments with appearances on _Ellen_, _Jimmy Kimmel, _and _The Tonight Show._ There was the American premiere of the movie as well that she had to attend, and then she'd be finished and could focus on Ashley's wedding, which was quickly approaching. She had gotten the music of the song that Ashley wanted her and Zac to sing the week prior while she was in New York, and couldn't help but roll her eyes at the irony of it's meaning when she looked at it.

_Seriously, Ash?_ she thought to herself when she opened the package and saw the sheet music. _"What I've Been Looking For'?_

As she got the last of her things together and in the suitcase, she picked up her phone. She held onto it for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip as she was trying to make the decision of what to do, before tossing it into her purse, only to change her mind and pull it out again. Quickly typing out a text message, she hit send and put it back in the bag as she walked out the door pulling her suitcase behind her.

_I do still love you and you're right, we do need to talk. I just need more time. I'll let you know when._

* * *

When Zac turned his phone on the next morning, it immediately buzzed with a text message. He opened the message and quickly read it, smiling. He hastily punched out a reply on the keys, fully realizing now that it would be Ashley's wedding when they even saw each other again, much less talked.

_I understand you need time. Just know that I can't wait to see you._

He made the decision that that would be it in his pursuit of Vanessa's heart once again. At least until the moment was right. She said she needed time and time he would give her… at least until the following month at their friend's wedding. They were paired to walk down the aisle together as bridesmaid and groomsman, after all. She would have no choice but to talk to him then.

_**AN:** FYI: The "What I've Been Looking For" that I had in mind is the full version that Sharpay and Ryan sing, but at the slower tempo that Troy and Gabriella sing it._


	9. Face to Face

_I know that most sane people wouldn't dare to try and plan a wedding in three months (if you have, then more power to you; I'm impressed!), but in my mind, if you're rich- which Ashley undoubtably is- and can afford to hire a wedding planner, then you can have her (or him in today's society!) do all the work and have it done in three months. Just go with it, okay? Oh, and enjoy while you're at it. Remember, the story doesn't revolve around the wedding. Just the people involved. And just so you know, I don't own the people involved or anything having to do with them; I just own the plot._

_**Chapter 9**_

The time that was left before Ashley and Scott's wedding was all a blur. The time was filled with final dress fittings, final cake and food tastings, and final meetings with the officiant and reception hall administrator. They had a meeting set up with the site manager at the gardens where the couple had decided to hold the ceremony during this time as well. The list of songs that they wanted played at the reception had been compiled and given to the dj during the meeting. The final details were the most stressful, and the wedding planner had just booked a new client, so Ashley and Scott had enlisted the help of their friends who were standing up for them on their wedding day. The six friends had been split up in groups of two and each group had been given different responsibilities. Ashley had debated on pairing up Zac and Vanessa, but finally decided against it. The final decision to keep them apart until the rehearsal, which was being held the day before the ceremony, had ultimately been made by Scott, much to Ashley's dismay.

"_But if we wait until then for them to finally see each other and talk it could be a disaster! I love them, but if they ruin my wedding, I will personally kill them both!" she argued._

"_Babe, I don't think it'll get to that point. She told you herself that she wanted to talk, but wasn't quite ready. Give her just a little bit more time, and maybe by the reception they'll be talking. Don't push them into something before they're both ready," he reassured her, taking her in his arms as an act of comfort._

_She sighed as she took in his words. "I guess you're right. I'll have her and MoMo running errands and put Zac with Corbin."_

"_There you go. That sounds good."_

Which was why Vanessa and Monique were now in the car, making stops all over town. The last two stops the girls made were to the tuxedo shop and the bridal shop, to pick up the tuxes for the guys and the dresses for the girls. They made a stop at Scott's to drop off the tuxes and Vanessa was thankful that Zac and Corbin were also out, feeling the familiar mixed emotions of being glad that she was able to avoid seeing him yet again, and yet upset at the same time that she'd have wait.

When they got back to Ashley's, the four girls had an impromptu meeting about the events for the rest of the week. It was decided that the bridesmaids' luncheon would be on Friday morning, hosted by Jennifer- one of her many duties as the maid of honor- and held at Vanessa's. The rest of Friday would be held at a local spa getting manicures, pedicures, massages, and facials for Ashley and the other three girls and the flower girl would join later in the day before carpooling with the older ladies to the gardens for the rehearsal.

The rehearsal was the one point in all the festivities that caused Vanessa the most anxiety. It meant that, ready or not, she now had to face Zac. She knew this moment would come eventually, but had been so busy since she returned from her promotional travels helping Ashley that she hadn't even thought about seeing him for the first time. Now, however, the nerves were there to remind her of exactly what was about to happen and the various outcomes that it represented.

Not wanting to stress Ashley with more than she needed today but needing to talk to someone, Vanessa pulled Monique aside and out of earshot. She didn't want Ashley to overhear and possibly freak out, so the two of them walked away from the chaos of the luncheon and stepped outside onto Vanessa's back patio and took a stroll around the pool. Monique, always the voice of reason who could calm Vanessa's nerves about anything, was quick to point out the voice mail that Vanessa received from Zac while in London.

"_Sweetie, I think that after that voice mail, he won't pull away from you. He'll be there waiting with open arms and you know it. You're just making more out of this than there is."_

So now here she sat, sandwiched between Jennifer and Monique, in one of the chairs that had been set up for the guests to sit in tomorrow at the ceremony. She was trying hard to listen to what the wedding planner was saying, but the feel of the bright blue eyes staring straight at her made it hard to concentrate.

"So now let's have the bridesmaids and groomsmen line up at the back of the aisle, please. I'll pair you up when we get back there," the planner announced. Everyone stood up and made their way to the back, Vanessa trying hard to stay next to Monique. She held her breath when she saw Zac approach her.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Hi," she replied, giving him a small smile. Corbin and Monique watched as the two of them spoke for the first time in a month and a half, showing the silent support that they knew their friends needed.

"Can we-" he began, pointing at an area a few feet away from everyone else where they could have just a little bit of privacy, but she cut him off.

"Not right now." Seeing the disappointment pass through his eyes, she quickly added "Soon."

"Vanessa-" he started again, only this time, the wedding planner cut him off.

"Okay, let's have Monique and Corbin line up first, then Vanessa and Zac, followed by Jennifer. The best man Bradley will be with Scott up front…"

The day continued on with directions being given and followed. The group ran through the ceremony twice and then departed for the rehearsal dinner. And as much as he wanted to, Zac was unable to get a few minutes alone with Vanessa. He stood watching as she interacted with Scott's little cousins who were acting as the flower girl and ring bearer and couldn't help the one thought that ran through his mind. _"She looks good with those kids." _He sighed as he continued to watch her and was just about to take a sip of his drink when Corbin approached him.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"About what?" he asked, playing ignorance.

"Dude, don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about. What are you going to do about Vanessa?"

Zac let out a sigh, still watching her and trying to figure out the answer to his friend's question himself. "I don't know, man. She said she wants to talk, but that she's just not ready yet. I want to respect that and give her the time she needs, but I'm afraid that if I give her too much time, it'll be too late."

"Piece of advice?" Corbin asked. He continued without waiting on Zac's permission to do so. "Don't let tomorrow pass without doing so."

That was why Zac now stood, at the back of the aisle in his tuxedo, waiting for the ceremony to start and the moment when he would escort his bridesmaid girlfriend down the aisle. He and Corbin turned to look at the sound of the girls coming around the corner in their blue dresses when they heard their laughter.

He felt his breath catch in his throat when he saw her for the first time that day. She was absolutely breathtaking in the dress that Ashley carefully picked out for her attendants in the shade of blue that was close to the same shade as Zac's eyes, and with her hair swept in a loose bun off the to the side. Vanessa picked out the hairstyle herself; she liked the hairstyle from the prom scene in the third _High School Musical_ so much, that she decided to have it done that way again for the wedding.

Their eyes met as she took him in as well. She had obviously seen him in a tuxedo before, but there was something about this time. _He is beyond good looking, he is- _Her thoughts were interrupted by the music changing and the wedding planner told the five adults and two children to line up and get ready.

As Zac approached Vanessa and offered her his arm, they exchanged a look with each other as she reached up and took it. They couldn't deny the sparks that they felt rushing through them as soon as they touched for the first time since everything fell apart. She gave him a small smile and he returned the gesture.

They made their way down the aisle, and the two of them took their places, Vanessa on the left and Zac on the right directly across from her.

As the music changed once again and Ashley appeared at the end of the aisle, everyone stood and turned to watch as she made her way on her father's arm toward Scott- all but two of her best friends, whose eyes were on each other. The two of them were in their own world and didn't even notice anything else going on around them throughout the ceremony.

As Ashley took her place at the alter and Scott beside her, Zac and Vanessa found themselves in their own world- a world that consisted of just the two of them and no one else. The minister began his lines…

"Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today…"

Vanessa stood there looking at Zac, with all their favorite memories playing over and over in her mind. Their audition for _High School Musical_ when they met, the times of them joking around on set during the dance rehearsals, their first trip to Hawaii together, their performance at the Oscars, all the promotional tours they went on together to all of their favorite cities all over the world, the time they spent together in Vancouver during the summer… Her mind was working overtime. Little did she know, so was Zac's.

He was reliving the moment when he bought the exquisite diamond ring for her. He remembered how nervous he was just thinking about buying the ring. His mind wandered through all their most private, most romantic moments together. Their first kiss, the first moment when he realized that he loved her and told her so, the first time they made love, the times they spent laying in bed and either just talking or watching TV, the moments spent with each others' families. Oh, how he hoped it wasn't too late to call the Hudgens his in-laws and Stella his sister! It just so happened that she had the same thought about his family as well… even Dylan.

"_I can't believe that I was pushing her away and didn't even see the signs!" _

"_Please, God, don't let it be too late for me and Zac!"_

"Do you, Scott, take Ashley as your wife? Do you promise to love her and to cherish her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for as long as you both live?" the minister asked.

Scott looked deep in his fiancée's eyes and said "I do". Zac, too, looked Vanessa in the eyes and used their telepathic abilities they managed to have with each other to make her understand that he planned to someday make the same vow to her. Then it was Ashley's turn.

"And do you, Ashley, take Scott as your husband? Do you promise to love him and to cherish him, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for as long as you both live?" As Ashley answered, Vanessa kept her eyes fixed on Zac's and gave just the slightest nod, just enough for him to know that she, too, was in on his plan for their future. He released the breath he didn't know he was holding when he spotted her simple sign to him.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Scott, you may kiss your new wife." As Scott leaned in to give Ashley the kiss he'd been waiting for all day long, Zac mouthed a simple "I love you" to Vanessa, and she smiled at him in return. The new couple turned and was introduced to the congregation and started to make their way up the aisle, followed by their siblings.

As Zac and Vanessa walked toward each other, she reached up to wipe a few of the tears that she'd felt building throughout the ceremony off her cheek and he once again offered her his arm. She took it lovingly and the two of them made their way up the aisle. When they were out of the way of the others, they walked to a corner and turned to face each other. Just as Vanessa opened her mouth to speak to her lover, the wedding planner spoke up instead, forcing Vanessa to once again wait.

"Okay, everybody, gather over here. Once the guests have cleared out, we'll go back for the pictures and then you're all free to go party."

Zac offered Vanessa his hand not sure if she would take it or not, but was ecstatic when she did and laced their fingers together. The two of them stayed close to each other throughout the photographer's instructions, sharing the simplest of touches, and sat next to each other in the limo during the ride to the reception, holding hands for the duration. They had yet to find time to have the talk that the two of them knew they very much needed. Zac had gotten an idea of how to sneak away with her for just a few minutes, and couldn't wait to put said plan into action at the reception.

* * *

The reception was the epitome of the perfect party in Ashley's eyes. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing, and having fun. That was all she wanted. Well, that and for her two best friends to finally have their much required time alone.

That moment came not long into the reception. Ashley and Scott had shared their first dance as a married couple and Scott had his dance with him mom, and even stopped halfway through to pull Ashley's mom into his arms to dance with her. After that, Ashley and her dad shared their dance. The next song was a slow one, too, and Greg looked over at his older daughter and saw her sitting in a chair off to the side of the dance floor, with her legs crossed, her elbow propped up on the table, and resting her chin in her hand. He noticed the melancholy look on her face and took that moment to approach Vanessa.

"Baby V, may I have this dance?" he asked his oldest daughter. She looked up at him and gave him a smile, reaching up to take the hand that he had outstretched in her direction and stood next to her father.

"Absolutely," she told him with a slight smile and let him lead her out onto the dance floor, while "My Girl" by The Temptations played through the speakers.

"What's on your mind?" he started the much needed father/ daughter talk that he considered necessary.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, wrinkling her eyebrows together in confusion at her father's words.

"Sweetie, you know what I mean. You haven't told your mom and I much about it, but we can see the way you two are looking at each other. You had an argument and you both are afraid to talk about it. So, with that being said, what's going on?"

"I don't know, Dad. Things are so messed up right now," she finally admitted.

"You guys look like you're on your way to being okay again. I noticed the looks you two shared during the ceremony," he pointed out.

"Sort of. I mean, yeah, we had a disagreement, but I think things got blown out of proportion on both sides. We haven't been able to talk things out yet, but-"

"-but I think you're about to get your chance."

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

Greg nodded over his daughter's shoulder and she turned her head and followed his gaze just in time to see Zac stand from his chair and start the walk towards his girlfriend and her father. She dropped her arms from around Greg's neck and fully turned. Greg stepped off to the side to watch the outcome of what all of Zac and Vanessa's friends wanted to happen for a month and a half now. As Zac got closer he held his right hand out in Greg's direction, and the older gentleman took it in his right, giving Zac's hand a firm shake.

"Greg, do you mind if I cut in?" he asked, almost timidly, which Greg noticed was uncharacteristic of his daughter's boyfriend.

"Zac, I don't mind at all. In fact, I insist on it." He took Vanessa's right hand, placed a gentle kiss on the back of it, and placed it in Zac's left as he walked away. Vanessa watched as her dad sat back down in his chair next to his wife. Gina leaned forward in her chair and placed her hands around Greg's shoulders, giving him a soft squeeze, and a kiss on his cheek.

"Are they okay?" she asked.

"They will be after tonight," he reassured her.

They watched as Zac placed his arms around Vanessa's waist and she reached up to rest her arms around his shoulders. The two of them began to move to the soft tune, and as they danced, he took her hand in his once again and held it between them.

"I don't know where to start," she told him, finally breaking the silence.

"I can start by saying that I'm sorry."

They stopped dancing and she just looked him in the eyes and felt herself melting once again, as she always did when she looked in his crystal blues. They didn't say anything else as the song continued. No other words were needed at the moment. The Temptations were saying it all.

When the song ended, Vanessa gave Zac a slight smile. She looked out onto the patio, and then let her gaze fall on him once again. She walked away to the champagne fountain on a nearby table, picked up a glass, and placed it under the stream of pink liquid, knowing that Zac was watching her every move. Once her glass was full, she walked out onto the patio and stood near the cement railing, looking out over the gardens below, which had been decked out in twinkling, white lights. She was pulled from her daze as she felt a jacket being wrapped across her bare shoulders. She turned and saw Zac standing ten feet in front of her with his hands in his pockets. The two stood looking at each other, taking in the sight that they had each longed to see for the past several weeks. Finally, Zac took a deep breath and broke the silence first this time.

"You look beautiful. You always manage to take my breath away, no matter what you're wearing, but this… This is absolutely amazing." He moved his eyes down her body, taking in the full effect, and brought them back up to meet her brown eyes once again.

"Van, I was pushing you away. I never meant to hurt you. I didn't realize that things had gotten to the point they did. I know I messed up royally and I want the chance to be able to fix them."

"Zac, you're not the only one who messed up," she told him. "I should have said something to you about my feelings long before. I shouldn't have held everything in like I did."

"You know, Van, we promised each other long ago to always talk things out whenever something was bothering us." He looked at her pointedly and watched her slowly nod her head.

"I know." Vanessa felt the lump form in her throat at her boyfriend's words, knowing what he was about to say next. She leaned with her back against the cement railing that was nearby for support.

"Why didn't you?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I was scared." Her voice came out in a whisper, causing her to choke on her words, but keeping her gaze focused on his.

"Of what?" he questioned, taking a step closer to her at the first clue of her tears.

"I was afraid that I would push you away with all the pressure I would be putting on you. I didn't want you to feel like I was forcing you into something that you weren't ready for." She turned her face away from his as the tears began to fall. This time, however, she didn't try to stop them.

"Van, I told you before that I was ready. You wouldn't have been forcing me into something that I didn't want. I've wanted this for a long time, and had a huge plan that was in the process of being played out. Now before you say anything about that-" he rushed on, holding his hand out in front of him to stop her before she said anything, when he saw her open her mouth "-I think I'm ready for you to know about my massive plan."

Vanessa watched as he reached up to wipe her tears away, feeling a shiver pass through her at the feel of his hands on her body once more. He continued talking as she watched him.

"Do you remember our trip to Utah?"

"Is that still on?" she asked with a slight smirk. When he just looked at her, she apologized. "Sorry. You know that's how I deal with things, I joke about them."

He offered her a small smile before continuing. "Yeah. Well, it is still on. I told Bart that I may need to postpone for awhile, but I think we still may be able to go during the time we're supposed to."

"What does Bart have to do with all this?"

Zac looked down at his feet and took a breath. "Baby, the name of the resort is the Johnson Mill." He looked up to watch as the realization occurred to her.

"You mean, the resort-"

"-belongs to Bart. He owns a high-end Bed & Breakfast in Midway, Utah. He told me about it during the filming of the third movie. I had told him that I thought I was getting closer to wanting to propose to you but wanted it to be somewhere extremely special. He then gave me the website to this place and while you were filming one night, I pulled out the laptop and looked it up. Just looking at the pictures, I fell in love with this place and knew it was the perfect place to ask you to be with me forever."

She had been silent throughout his mini speech, taking in all that he was saying. Finally, after a moment, she pushed herself off the wall she'd been leaning against and slowly walked to where he was standing.

"Why didn't you just tell me about this place?" she asked softly.

"I wanted to surprise you. You've always said that you wanted your engagement to be a surprise, something that you weren't expecting. I was afraid that if I told you too much about the resort, you might suspect something. Instead, in the process of trying to do something right and make it extremely special, I totally screwed it up. I love you, Vanessa. I never meant to hurt you, stringing you along like I did, making you think that it was never going to happen."

The two of them stood there, looking at each other. All of the emotions of the past month and a half came rushing back, and Vanessa's tears came even harder.

"Baby, don't cry," Zac pleaded, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry. Please, don't cry." He continued to whisper comforting words into her hair until he finally heard her tears subside and she gave a small sniffle.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it," she said with another sniffle. "Zac, I love you so much. I never should have clammed up like I did. I should have talked to you about everything I was thinking and feeling." She paused as she looked at him again. She reached up with her hand, rubbing it gently across his left cheek. "How's your cheek?" she asked, concerned.

Zac just gave out a chuckle. "Better." He turned his head to place a gentle kiss on the palm of her hand. "I'm telling you, though, those Seals did a great job at training you. You really had some force behind that slap! Remind me to never piss you off again!"

Her eyes got wide as she looked at him in shock. "Baby, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that to you. It was just an impulse. I didn't think, I just-"

"Reacted to my calling you selfish and self-absorbed. Empty words, Van. They meant nothing. You know that, right? You know I think that you're absolutely amazing and you are the most selfless person I know."

"I know," she said, rubbing his cheek again. After a moment of silence, Vanessa moved her hand to behind his head, and asked the question that they both had been dying to know the answer to. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah," he said, looking deep in her chocolate eyes. "Yeah, Baby, we're okay."

The two of them looked at each other for a moment, and Vanessa stood on her tiptoes tangling her fingers through his hair, and pulled his face towards hers. He allowed his head to be pulled down and their lips met in a kiss that was full of all the love, all the promises of the future that the two of them knew was coming, and they both felt the familiar sparks. As their lips moved together, he let his tongue slip out and sweep across her lower lip, begging to be let in. She opened her mouth, granting him access to the deep caverns of within. Their tongues battled for dominance, and just as they were about to be swept away with the passion the two had missed for so long, they were reluctantly pulled apart by the sound of a wolf whistle and slight applause. They broke apart, and looked back over their shoulders at the door, seeing Corbin, Monique, Jennifer, Stella, Dylan, Ashley, and Scott watching. Ashley's face broke into a big grin, and she gave her two best friends a thumbs up sign and walked away, pulling her new husband behind her.

"About damn time," they heard Corbin say, and the rest of the group laughed, as they all turned and walked away, leaving Zac and Vanessa alone once again, to make up for lost time.

* * *

After their make up session, or at least as much of a make up session as they could have considering where they were, the two made their way back inside. They enjoyed themselves the rest of the evening, eating, drinking, dancing, and having fun with everyone. Every few moments, Zac would stop and give Vanessa a gentle kisses on various places- her cheek, her temple, her hairline as they were dancing, her lips- and the two of them found it very difficult to not run off and find the nearest coat closet. The only thing keeping them from doing so was that fact that they both knew Ashley would kick their butts as soon as she found out. When it was announced that the bride was about to toss the bouquet, Vanessa of course was reluctantly pushed to the front of the crowd by Monique.

"I have no reason to have it," Monique told her. "I'm just out here because I was forced to be by Corbin! You, however…"

So there Vanessa stood, reluctantly, waiting for Ashley to throw her flowers. Not planning on catching it, she stood with her arms crossed, which caused Ashley to glare at her.

"Play fair, Hudgens!"

"Fine!" Vanessa shouted back, uncrossing her arms with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay, ladies! Get ready," the dj stated, and began the countdown. "Here she goes! 1…2…3!"

Instead of tossing the bouquet, as was tradition, Ashley simply turned back to face the group of ladies in front of her, ran up to Vanessa, took her hands, and placed the flowers in them, closing her friend's fist around the stems. The rest of the crowd bust into laughter, Zac included, while Vanessa simply play pouted.

"Tizzy!" she shouted.

"Uh-uh! It's Speer now!"

Vanessa laughed and reached out to give her best friend a hug. "Thank you for believing in us," she whispered.

"I knew you two would find your way back eventually. You just needed a little push, that's all."

And when they got back to Vanessa's later that night, find their way back is just what they did. All… night… long.

_Okay, so the big plan is (sort of) revealed. And before anyone asks... yes, the resort is a real place. I included a little free advertising for our friend Mr. Bart Johnson, aka Daddy Jack! If you want to check it out for yourself, the web address is .com. Teaser for the next chapter... If I were you, I'd check the place out before chapter 10 gets posted!_


	10. Forever

_And now, in honor of Valentine's Day, a little something of which I own NOTHING- only the plot. To those of yall in a relationship, may tomorrow be a happy day for you. To those of yall not in a relationship, like myslef, then HAPPY SINGLE'S AWARNESS DAY! Thank you all so much for all the reviews. They've truely been amazing. It was almost like one of my literature in college where the professor stopped talking and the students carried the class with their discussions. There were always those that loved the story, and always those who had negative things to say about the story. I was overwhelmed that this story prompted that kind of discussions. I never would have expected it. Thank you so much! _

_A very special thank you to Anna. You've been my sounding board off which I could toss ideas. You told me when you didn't think something worked. You were my proofreader. You've been my encourager. THANK YOU! _

_With all that said... I hope yall enjoy!_

_**Chapter 10**_

One month. That was how much time had passed since Ashley and Scott's wedding. That was how long it had been since Zac and Vanessa's long awaited reunion. The two of them had spent all night following the wedding and pretty much all of the next day making up for the past month and a half that they had been separated. With no business obligations for either of them following the wedding until July when Zac had the premiere for his next movie, _The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud_, all they really wanted to do was spend time together.

They finally made their way out of bed around 11:00 the next morning, showered- together, of course- got dressed, and made their way down to the kitchen, where they made a picnic lunch. Packing up the car with the basket and blankets, the two drove to a park nearby and enjoyed the sunshine and each other, with none of the paparazzi nearby to witness it- something the two of them were not used to- and they planned to take full advantage of it.

Within the month that had passed, they spent a lot of time talking through all the issues they encountered, which led to their time apart. Vanessa sat down in front of the computer one afternoon with Zac nearby and was finally able to look at the Johnson Mill on the internet. Needless to say, she fell in love with the place and couldn't wait until their week long reservations.

"Zac, this place is beautiful!" she gushed while looking at the resort one afternoon.

"That was my first reaction," he admitted, almost shyly.

"And you say that no paparazzi will be there?" she asked him as he nodded. Vanessa placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes before continuing. "You promise?" He simply kissed her before he answered.

"Baby, I rented out the whole place for the week that we'll be there. It'll be just you and me, and the staff. Bart promised me that if he doesn't sign their paycheck, they will be thrown out on their ass and their camera will be broken by him personally, after he takes the memory card out and makes sure all the pictures of us are deleted. I promise you there will be no one there."

"What should I be wearing?" she asked, as she turned back to the pictures on the computer screen.

"When, while we're there?" When she nodded, still engrossed in the pictures, he continued. "Well, there's the lake, the hiking trails, the horses for riding, the waterfall, the bed. I'd say nothing."

"That's not what I mean! I mean, when you propose, what should I be wearing? Will it be at the lake, while horse-back riding, while-"

"I'm not telling you when I'm doing it! It's bad enough that you know where. 'When' is the only secret I have left. Let me have my secrets, woman!"

"Fine," she said with a giggle. "But how will I know what all I should pack? I mean, are we going out or anything, or just staying there the whole time?"

"Your mom and Stella will help you with the packing. You just relax and be comfortable in your knowledge that when we come back from Utah, you will have to start planning our wedding."

So now here they sat, two weeks later, at the airport waiting to board the private jet that will take them to Midway, Utah, for their private, romantic getaway. Vanessa was absolutely excited, not just because she knew she was getting engaged within the next few days, but because she and Zac didn't get away _completely alone _often. They both had been so busy lately and needed this time together, just the two of them.

When the couple pulled up in the taxi they found at the airport, which Vanessa didn't understand why they didn't just rent a car of their own ("We're doing everything normal while we're here. We're not famous, just two people here on vacation," was his simple response when she asked him about it), she just looked at the scene out the window on her side of the car and couldn't help the way her breath caught in her throat as she took in the picture before her.

"Zac!" she exclaimed.

"It looks so much better than the pictures on the internet, doesn't it?" he asked, with his own hint of amazement in his voice, as he leaned forward and watched her shiver as his breath tickled her neck, as he followed his words with a kiss to her secret special spot that he had discovered long ago.

"This is beautiful!" she told him as she turned her face slightly to meet his lips with her own for a brief kiss.

When they had their luggage out of the trunk and the taxi drove off after having been paid, they made their way inside and immediately spotted Bart waiting for them at the front desk.

"Zac, Vanessa! Over here!" he called out to the young lovers. They made their way over to where he was standing. He came around the desk to greet them, as Vanessa ran forward giving him a big hug as he picked her up and gave her a small twirl as she let out a squel. He then took Zac's hand gave it a firm shake. "How are you, Vanessa? I heard you've had a busy couple of months here lately."

"Busy and lonely," she said, giving Zac a pointed look. "But it's all good now. I'm doing great. How are you? How're Robyn and the kids?"

The three old friends spent a few minutes catching up before Bart told them about the amenities that he offered at his inn.

"Let me show you around the place and each of the rooms. You two can have your pick of any of them."

They walked around the grounds, with Bart showing them about everything they would need to know about the week, before making their way back to the desk.

After Zac had filled out all the required paperwork, Bart then handed him the key to the Waterfall Room. Once the younger actors were settled in their room of choice, they then decided to have a walk around the resort on their own. They visited the lake, saw the waterfall, and walked through the gardens, before Vanessa mentioned that she was hungry. They made their way back to the main house and to the dining room.

After dinner, they went back to the room to relax, only for Vanessa to be surprised by soft lighting and romantic music playing in the background. She spotted a bottle of sparkling cider chilling in a bucket of ice on the table and a bowl containing a dozen chocolate covered strawberries sitting next to it. Rose petals were sprinkled across the bed, just waiting for Zac and Vanessa to find themselves in the throws of passion. They enjoyed just being together, sharing soft kisses and whispering sweet nothings to each other, while they danced, drank their bottle of cider, ate their strawberries, and made love well into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

The next morning, the young couple awoke to a knocking at the door. Zac reluctantly got out of bed, after giving Vanessa a kiss and telling her to wait and he'd be right back, and found a pair of shorts to throw on and went to answer the door. When he opened it, there wasn't anyone there, just a rolling cart with covered trays and a note. He picked up the note and read it. Smiling, he called for Vanessa.

"Hey, Van, come here!"

"Who was at the door?" she asked groggily, while wrapping a robe around her tiny body.

"No one, but look at this," he said, opening the door wider so she could see out into the hall. When she came closer, she took the note that Zac was holding out to her, seeing the cart for the first time.

"Wow," she said, opening the note to read it out loud, while Zac was busy taking the lids off the trays. "'Dear Zac and Vanessa, Welcome to Johnson Mill! We're so excited to have you both here and promise to stay out of your hair as much as possible. We understand that this is an important vacation for you two and hope to make everything as memorable as possible. If there is anything we can do for you while you're here, please don't hesitate to ask. We will be more than happy to comply with your wishes. Sincerely, the Johnson Mill staff'. Holy cow! Zac, can you believe this?" she asked.

"Well, Bart did tell me that he'd make this the most perfect, most peaceful vacation we've ever had. Check this out!" he told her, gesturing to the cart and it's contents. Omelets, muffins, Danishes, fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee, all rested on the cart waiting to be consumed by the young lovers.

"Is Bart trying to make us fat?" she joked, as she grabbed a grape and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Well, if you gain some weight while we're here, I can think of some ways to help you work it all off," he whispered in her ear before kissing it.

"Save it for later, Efron. I'm hungry!" she told him, as she playfully pushed him away and picked up a plate. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw his pout and leaned over offering him her lips. He quickly accepted her offer of a kiss. When she pulled away, she told him "Quit pouting. You're the reason why I'm so hungry, causing me to work up such an appetite." He gave her a smirk as she continued to fill her plate with breakfast goodies.

After showering and getting dressed, they went back out and rented a paddle boat, taking it for a leisurely trip around the five acre lake, and then went back to the main house for a quick, yet filling, lunch. They went back to the lake with some bread, which they managed to get from the kitchen, and spent an hour or so feeding the ducks and geese that were swimming around. After that, the couple decided to take a horseback ride down the south slope of Tate Creek Canyon. Bart had told them about this area, which was a secluded mountain meadow only accessible via wagon trail used by early settlers, and suggested they try it out, so they decided to do so and visit Soldier Hollow. While they were there, they opted for the optional chuck wagon dinner before returning to the resort.

When they arrived at the room this time, Vanessa was surprised to find that, once again, the lights had been dimmed, soft was music playing in the background, and two massage tables were set up with two masseuses standing beside them.

"You never cease to amaze me," she told Zac, as she turned to wrap her arms around his neck and give him a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I didn't do this," he told her, giving her another kiss.

"You didn't?" she asked shocked, pulling back to look in his eyes.

"No," he admitted.

"Mr. Efron, Ms. Hudgens, we were sent here at the request of Mr. Johnson," one of the masseuses told them.

"Wow," Vanessa said in awe. "Really?"

"Yes, ma'am. Now we can give you two some time to get settled on the tables, or we can leave and-"

"No!" Vanessa exclaimed, and then suddenly blushed at the forwardness she had exhibited. "I'm sorry. What I meant was, please stay. Just give us just a moment?"

"Of course," he replied and the two masseuses stepped into the other room after giving instructions about laying on the table with their faces in the hole at the top and how to cover with the blanket that was provided, and that they would check on them before coming back in the room. Once they were gone, Vanessa turned to Zac.

"Are you okay with this?" she asked him.

"You mean with the fact that there are two guys, one waiting to massage me and one waiting to massage my girlfriend?" he asked her uncertainly.

"Yeah. I know I reacted before we talked about it, but I thought after the horse back riding and all that we did today, we could use a little loosening up for later," she said seductively, as she came closer to him and ran a finger down his chest.

"Babe, when you look at me like that and talk to me in that voice, I can tell you that I am 100% certain of my masculinity and have no problems at all having a man massage me. Now, get undressed and get on the table so we can get this show on the road. I'm ready for it to be over so we can 'relax'."

"You mean, so we can have sex, right?" she asked him in a knowing voice.

"Well, if you want to. I mean-"

"Zac!" she exclaimed, hitting him in the chest playfully, before laughing and rolling her eyes. Zac just chuckled at her reaction, and there was no more talking as they undressed and climbed on their tables, and covered themselves with the blanket. They basked in the feel of their couples' massage, and spent time together in the jetted bathtub afterwards before taking their time together into the bedroom and the massive bed that awaited them.

* * *

The next morning, breakfast was not waiting. Instead, the two had to get dressed and go down to the dining room for breakfast, which was okay by them. Especially for Zac, since he was able to use the excuse of going to the restroom to sneak away from the table to speak with Bart about the last minute preparations for the day.

"So it's all ready?"

"Ready whenever you are. Just give me a signal and I'll make sure the champagne is on ice and the basket is set as well."

"Sweet. Thanks, man," he said leaning in to give his on-screen dad a hug.

"Anything for you two. You know that," Bart told him, returning the hug with a manly pat on the back. "Now get back to her before she gets suspicious."

Zac walked back to the table, sneaking up behind Vanessa and startling her.

"Miss me?" he asked with a chuckle, as she jumped, placing her hand over her heart.

"Of course I did," she finished the infamous line from their second movie together for him with a smirk.

Once he sat back down, the two of them continued their breakfast. Vanessa sipped on her mimosa, laughing, while Zac was telling her a story about something that had happened to him and Corbin during their time apart. It of course wasn't humorous at the time, but to retell it now, it really was quite funny and the two enjoyed the laugh that they shared on their friend's behalf.

"Poor Corbin!"

"Poor Corbin? I'm the one that the stupid raccoon was after! What about 'poor Zac'?!"

"I'm sorry, Baby, but you were able to outrun him. Corbin had fallen and hurt his ankle. Unless you made up that part of the story and it was really _you _who had fallen and hurt your ankle?" she asked, taking another sip of her drink to hide her smile as he threw his napkin at her.

When they finished eating, Vanessa excused herself to use the restroom and Zac made his way to the lobby area to wait on her. He caught Bart's eye and gave a small nod letting him know that they were ready. Bart nodded and smiled in return and picked up the phone, speaking to someone on the other end, letting the person know that his guests were ready and to make sure everything on his end was ready as well.

He watched as Vanessa returned and wrapped her arms around Zac's middle and back, connecting them on his right side. He watched as his young co-stars spoke to each other in quiet tones and saw the love that the two of them shared. When Zac pulled Vanessa closer in, Bart caught Zac's eye over Vanessa's shoulder and gave him a small wink, which Zac returned with a wave of his hand while the two of them walked out the door and headed to the field off the east side of the property. He was happy that he was able to have a hand in their future.

As the two of them rounded the corner and headed to their destination, Vanessa was surprised to see a large hot air balloon sitting there.

"Wow!" Zac exclaimed.

"Did you not know about this?" she asked.

"No, I knew about the hot air balloon, but I didn't know it'd be so-"

"Massive?" she finished for him.

"Yeah! Let's go check it out."

"But Zac, is it for us?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, it is," he told her with a smile. "Now, come on." He held his hand out to her and led her to the balloon waiting for them. As they climbed in with the help of the pilot, the two of them noticed the picnic basket waiting for them in the center of the gondola. Vanessa approached the basket and went to open it and look inside, only to be stopped by Zac.

"Hey, why don't we wait until we get in the air to open the basket?"

"Um, okay, but does it really matter?" she asked.

"Well, no, but I don't want to ruin whatever kind of surprise Bart may have set up for us," he told her, trying to cover the nerves he was feeling. When he saw Vanessa shrug her shoulders and walk away from the basket and back over beside him, he breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped his arms around her.

"Mr. Efron, Ms. Hudgens, my name is Eli and I'll be you're pilot this morning. The ride will last approximately an hour and we'll be flying over the Herber Valley, making a stop in the valley itself for a picnic lunch, packed by Mr. Johnson himself just for the two of you, and about an hour back. Do you two have any questions for me?"

"No, sir, thank you. And I'm Zac, by the way, this is Vanessa."

"Nice to meet you, Eli," Vanessa told him, holding her hand out to shake his.

"I would mention that my daughters are huge fans, but I'm sure you've heard all that before, so I won't." The three of them shared a laugh and Eli continued. "Are we ready?" When Zac and Vanessa nodded, Eli moved to the burner and took his position, taking the time for the last minute preparations it took to lift the balloon off the ground.

Once they were in the air, Zac and Vanessa stood at the edge of the gondola, looking over at the scene below them, Zac standing behind Vanessa with his arms resting on either side of her on the side of the gondola. The two of them enjoyed the ride, sharing kisses along the way. Before they knew it, they were descending for their lunch. They looked down at the ground around them before touching down and noticed a blanket spread out, waiting for them.

"Bart really thought of everything, didn't he?" Vanessa asked in disbelief.

"Actually, this picnic was my idea, but Bart did get everything together for me. I don't have a clue what's in the basket."

As they sat down on the blanket, Vanessa quickly reached for the picnic basket and opened it, finding a bottle of champagne inside. She gasped as she pulled it out, showing it to Zac.

"Wow! Zac, look!"

"Yeah, I knew that was in there," Zac said. As she kept pulling things out of the basket, she failed to notice as Zac wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. She opened containers to reveal all the food choices as Zac proceeded to open the bottle of champagne. The cork came off with a loud _pop!_ and the two lovers jumped back and laughed as the liquid came oozing over the side of the bottle. As Zac poured the alcoholic beverage into the glasses provided, Vanessa continued to dish the food onto the plates.

Once they were done eating Vanessa laid on her back on the blanket, looking up at Zac as he laid beside her, resting on his elbow and looking down at her. She raised her hand up to stroke his cheek and smiled.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him.

"How happy I am right now, being here with you. It's been just the two of us for the past few days, with no interruptions."

"I know," she said smiling. "It's been perfect. Thank you for this trip, Zac. I've had a great time. We needed this."

"We did need this. I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself." He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it before intertwining their fingers. He waited until he saw her take a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air, and close her eyes before he sat up to reach in the picnic basket. When he found what he was looking for, he let go of her hand, causing her to open her eyes in surprise.

"Zac? Are you okay?" she asked curiously.

"I will be in a few minutes," he told her. When she picked up on the seriousness in his voice, she instantly sat up facing him and noticed for the first time that he was nervously fiddling with something while looking down at his hands. He took a deep breath before looking up in her eyes and continued.

"Van, I love you. I've loved you from the first note we sang together. The times that we spend apart just solidifies that feeling for me. I never thought I'd find someone as special, as beautiful, as sexy, as- as intoxicating- as you and I hope that I never have to find out what it's like to not be with you." He paused to look down at their hands, joined together as he held both of hers in one of his as he still fiddled with the item in his other hand, and licked his lips and swallowed to moisten his dry throat. Looking back up into her intoxicating chocolate brown eyes, he noticed as she tried to blink back the tears that had instantly appeared. Taking another breath, he continued.

"The month that we were not speaking and were separated physically, I felt like I had this hole in my heart, like my whole world was falling apart around me and there was nothing I could do about it." He paused to take another calming breath, looking down at their hands once again. Vanessa pulled one of her hands from his and reached up to stroke his cheek. Feeling her calming gesture, he looked up and continued.

"Van, I can't wait to raise our children together. I can't wait to grow old with you. I want to be there when our hair starts to turn gray. I want to be the one holding your hand when our skin starts to wrinkle. I want to be the one who's sitting beside you nervously in the waiting room at the hospital when our grandbabies are born." He paused when he heard her sniffle. Giving her a small smile, he continued.

"The point is that I want to be with you everyday for the rest of our lives. I don't want a day to go by without you there with me."

He then felt his own tears start to form and didn't even stop to realize that there was a possibility that she could say no. He didn't let that thought enter his mind as he continued.

"With that being said, I have one more thing to add." At that moment, he got up on one knee and opened the box, holding it out for her to see to exquisite diamond ring that he had purchased while in Vancouver the previous summer. He heard as her breathing stopped and she pulled both of her hands out of his and brought them to cover her mouth. He took a deep breath himself before finishing his thought. "Vanessa Anne Hudgens, will you marry me and be not only my wife, but my partner in life for the rest of the days that God will let you have me?"

She struggled to maintain her tears, but found herself failing miserably. Unable to find her voice for the moment, she nodded her head vigorously and pulled her hands from in front of her mouth and threw them around his neck. Finally, she was able to speak and get out a tiny, whispered "Yes". Zac immediately gave her a loving, gentle kiss and managed to get her left hand from around his neck so he could slide the ring on, only to pause with the diamond halfway on.

Feeling his hesitation, she looked down to see why he stopped. Noticing the blue topaz ring on her finger, the newly engaged couple laughed and Zac pulled the diamond back off so she could take off the blue topaz. Taking it from her, he finally pushed the diamond ring all the way on her finger. When she felt the added weight to her hand, she pulled back so she could look at the ring again.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "It's beautiful."

"When we get back home, we'll take your blue topaz and get it sized for another finger if you like," he told her as he put the blue topaz ring in the ring box that just a few moments before had been home to the diamond ring that now sat on her finger. She nodded, not really hearing what he said as she was still mesmerized by the new ring adorning her finger.

"This is really happening, isn't it? I'm not dreaming?" she asked him. When she looked up, she noticed the huge smile on his face and the tears coming from his own eyes.

"Yeah, Baby, it's really happening!" he said, as he leaned in to give her a passionate kiss. She placed both her hands on either side of his face, as if holding him there, and deepened the kiss. She pulled away from the kiss before he was ready, however.

"Wait, there's just one thing I want to do," she said jumping up off the blanket. Grabbing his hand in hers, she pulled him up to his feet and led him back to the hot air balloon. As they started climbing back in, he finally asked her the question that had been on his mind ever since she pulled him up.

"Van, what are we doing?"

"You'll see, come on! Eli, take us back up!"

"Yes, ma'am." Once they were back up in the air, Vanessa rushed back to the side of the basket.

"There's something I've wanted to do for a while now," she said, turning over her shoulder to look at Eli and her new fiancé.

"What's that?" Zac asked nervously, almost afraid of her answer.

"This," she turned back around to look over the edge of the basket with a huge grin on her face. She cleared her throat before speaking again.

"I'M ENGAGED TO ZAC EFRON!" she yelled out to whoever could hear her down below. Zac appeared behind her shaking his head at his crazy fiancée's antics while Eli laughed. He took her by the shoulders and spun her around so she was facing him and placed his hands on her hips and leaned in, touching his forehead to hers.

"I love you, Vanessa Anne Hudgens," he said softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so his face was closer to hers.

"I love you, Zachary David Alexander Efron," she whispered in response, pressing their lips together once again.

* * *

When the young couple returned to the resort, they could hardly wait to get back to their room. The whole balloon ride back had been spent with kisses, gentle caresses, plans for their future, and trying to not let things go too far knowing that Eli was nearby. As they walked in the front door, Bart looked up from the computer at the front desk and noticed them.

"Hey, you two! How was the ball-" he called out. "Okay. I guess they have other things on their mind," he smiled to himself when they just kept walking past the desk to the stairs that would lead them to the room. Once they were out of Bart's sight, Zac leaned in to kiss Vanessa once again. The two struggled to make it down the hall. The only reason they made it to the room without getting too badly injured as they bumped into the walls along the way was because Zac managed to somehow find some sort of reserve. He knew in the back of his mind that even though they were the only two guests, there was still the staff and he wasn't really ready to give a show to anyone.

As they approached the door to their room, Zac reached in his pocket to get the key. Vanessa however, was only making the task more difficult as she kept pressing soft kisses to his neck, moving up to his jaw line, finally taking his earlobe in her mouth and gently sucking. Her hands were all over his fully clothed body. As she brought her lips back to his and swept her tongue into his mouth, beginning the familiar battle with his, he struggled to place the key in the key hole. He pulled back just enough to let her know his thoughts on their current actions.

"Babe, as much as I love what you're doing to me-" he stopped talking and she heard his sharp intake of breath. She smiled as her hand grazed across the front of his jeans, pausing in the middle to make sure he knew exactly what plans she had for the rest of their day. He then took her hand in his and took the lead himself, turning her around so he could push her against the still closed door, and attacked her neck with his mouth. This time it was her who drew in a sharp breath.

"Zac!"

He stopped just long enough to answer her. "Yes, Baby?"

"You need to get that door open now!" she demanded as he continued his pursuit of the column of her neck, nipping and suckling on her sweet spot, causing her to go weak in the knees. She reached up and grabbed onto the front of his shirt, holding him in place. Her heavy breathing turned into quiet pants and moans as he finally managed to get the key in the door and pushed it open. The two of them fell into the open room and Zac proceeded to push the door closed with his foot as he reached out and picked Vanessa up bridal style in his arms, carrying her into the bedroom and gently placing her down, never once breaking the kiss while he walked.

She reached up to bring him down with her, meeting his lips halfway with her own. After a moment, she began the task of unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders, tossing it to the floor. He then reached down to the hem of her shirt and pushed it up, bringing his hand up further on her skin, sending sparks all over her body wherever he touched. She broke the kiss and leaned her head up just enough so he could pull the shirt over her head, tossing it so it landed on the floor with his. Before long, the two young lovers were fully undressed and found themselves on the threshold of the passion that they were no strangers to, celebrating their love and the future that they now knew finally belonged them… Forever.

_The End_


End file.
